To Unite Once Again: A Tales of Symphonia FanFic
by Newtype06
Summary: Twenty years have passed and Terra Irving, young daughter of Colette and Llyod, sets out in the new world. But trouble brews as a familiar face returns, bringing an unstoppable menace. CHARACTER LIST TRIMMED! PLEASE R&R! WE LIVE OFF REVIEWS!
1. Prologue

**Prologue: To unite once again. . . .  
By White Rose.**

_'Peace. . . . what does it truly mean, to be at peace? To live your life happily and without worry, some would say. To prepare for the next problem but stay ever hopeful of a bright future, say others. _

_I, can do neither. I am. . . . merely a watcher now. Torn from the place I once called home, and burdened to drift on this far away land of Derris-Kharlan, until the day I finally pass away. . . . Here by my choice, against the pounding wants and wishes of my own heart, I alone work to rid this once beautiful world of the victims of a lost soul that I. . . . once called a friend, long ago. . . . _

_That man, was Mithos Yggdrasil. . . . and I, am Kratos Aurion. _

_It all began over 4000 years ago, when I was a citizen of that very world. . . .before I became one of them. . . . before I became an Angel of Cruxis. _

_Along with my other two companions, Mithos and I worked tirelessly to make that world a better place for everyone. It all come to a grinding halt the day that Martel, Mithos' only living sister was killed. . . .right in front of his eyes. . . . I, along with my friend Yuan, returned with Mithos to Derris-Kharlan, with the aid of the Eternal Sword. A half-elven blade of imense power that I could only dream to touch, much less wield. Our hearts were heavy, and many thoughts flooded our minds. Little did any of us know what Mithos had in store for the world that took his sister. The same world that my friends were all shunned and rejected from, among their own full-blooded kinds. They were half-elves. Products of Elves and Humans. . . . which is what I once was, long ago. Eventually, I was also rejected by everyone, and forced to live alone, strapped to the painful shadows that stuck to my friends. _

_In time, I caught onto Mithos' scheme to create an age of life-less beings. A world free from discrimination. . . . but only at the cost of human lives. I decended to that land as an Angel of Cruxis in search of a way to stop the impending chaos from happening. It was upon this land I met Anna, the love of my life. The woman I had planned to marry and settle down with. I was desperate to cleanse myself of my wretched past. . . . And so, before she was turned into a monster by these things I work to get rid of, and before I had ended her life. . . Anna and I searched for a way to reunite the two worlds. Worlds that Mithos had created in his sick attempt to bring about his dream world. Those two worlds were Tethe'alla, and Sylvarant. It was much later in Sylvarant that I, a beaten, defeated human, met a teenager name Lloyd Irving. . . . And it was at that very moment my broken, meaningless life would change, forever. . . . _

_We fought side by side as a team. A hidden satisfaction I had not felt in years. Together along with Sylvarant's chosen, Colette Brunel; and the rest of their friends of both worlds: Half-elven siblings--Raine and Genis Sage, the lonely girl--Presea Combatir, an ever punished, and former aristocratic man--Regal Bryant, the mornful woman--Sheena Fujibayashi, and Tethe'alla's chosen. . . . a nobleman filled with great pain and sadness, despite his personality--Zelos Wilder; Lloyd and I truimphed over anything that stood in our way. Conquering even betrayal, and ultimate shock. Things that. . . . even regaining his trust and friendship over time, I regret ever putting him through. _

_Finally, after many struggles, Lloyd encounted my old friend right here on Derris-Kharlan, in the area known as Vinheim. They fought a vicious battle. A battle of obtaining world peace for Lloyd and his group. A battle of finally discovering happiness for Mithos. It all ended when Mithos was ultimately defeated. His Cruxis Crystal was destroyed, and the world reunited. . . . just as I had wanted all along. _

_Where I had failed. . . . my son came through. . . . _

_And so, as I carry on my never-ending quest, I continue to watch the new, florishing world from up here. There is not a day that doesn't go by in which I do not see it's distant star. . . . and not cry. For I can never return to that place ever again. . . . to the things I hold dear to my heart. . . '._


	2. The Begining

**Hello readers! Just going through the motions here. We, the Tales Club do _not_ own the Tales Franchise. We just love their characters. We _did_ make up our own characters, though. **

NOTE: this is an RP made by a club. We constantly have members joining and dropping out. However, the basic storyline will stay the same. For a comprehensive list of the characters, go to

the chapter marked "List of Characters"

**And Enjoy the Story!**

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**RP #1 - White Rose. Posted on 10-11-05**

"Lloyd. . . ." Kratos whispered with a sigh as he snapped out of his deep thoughts. Gazing out into space, he continues to watch the star of the new world. "I--"

Suddenly, Derris-Kharlan begins to shake, and seems to start to move. Startled, Kratos looks around scanning every thing he could see. "This has never happened before. . . ." He stated with some concern as drew his sword. Not the Flameberg, which had been left with Lloyd--but a mysterious glowing sword of light that he found while working on Derris-Kharlan. He named it the Irving after his son, and held it out in front of him. As he continued to navigate Derris-Kharlan looking for anything suspicious, the shaking became more frequent and violent. "What is this!" He almost shouts to the wind as the ground underneath his feet begins to crumble. "What's going on? It's almost as if this world is under attack!" Kratos saids a bit puzzled as he unveils his blue shimmering angel wings, and takes to the air, watching as the very ground crumbles around him. Minutes later, a gathering of weird looking creatures swarm every inch of Derris-Kharlan, suprising him. He moves his eyes left and right, up and down, eyeing the rather large swarm, as they seemed to be in search of something, or someone. "What in hell?. . . ." He muttered under his breath as he scratched his head in confusion.

Just then, a horribly mutated winged monster appears above him. Acting as the mount for another strange passenger, the winged monster fires a purple beam at Kratos. Reacting quickly, Kratos dodges the incoming projectile, and bravely faces the new threats before him. "Who are you?" He states warily. The creature riding the mounted beast locks eyes with Kratos. "Where is the master of this world? The one called Yggdrasil?" The tall, slender, and cloaked alien like creature asks with a hissing, gurgling voice. Kratos brings his left arm up. Attached to it is the Star Shield. "Yggdrasil is no longer among the living. If you seek him, you are too late." The monster's face remains grim, as it raises one of it's own limbs in the air. Sharp, swordlike claws, about 1 foot each in length, appear from six long spiderish fingers. "He had promised me something long ago, yet when I come into this galaxy, I do not see what I had hoped to see." Said the putrid creature once more. The winged mount stared at Kratos as if targeting it's next meal. It growled and hissed at him with impatience--steaming drool slowly dripping from it's long mouth. The mysterious passenger's eyes narrowed, and it hones in on Kratos. "That, makes me very displeased. . . .human." Kratos claps his hands together, and soon, he begins to give off a slight glow. "I will ask you only once again." He pauses for moment. His eyes never leaving the piercing stare of the alienish monster. "Who are you?"

"I see no need to introduce myself to a lowly creature such as yourself." Kratos tilted his head to one side slightly, cocked and arrogent grin at the creatures and stuck his arm out in front of him. "That's just too bad then, isn't it?" He shuts his eyes for a moment, and then opens them back up, still gazing at the creatures. "Oh well." He opens his palm. . . .

"Judgement!"

Beams of light come blasting through the clouded atmosphere of Derris-Kharlan hitting everything in sight. Chunks of already loosened ground disintigrate all around, roaming native monsters are instantly destroyed along with several of the new beings, and even the purple clouds themselves seem to vanish from the intense light. The two creatures are struck repeatedly from the violent onslaught. The winged mount cries out in agony as it's body is being continuosly pelted and ripped. Shaking and squirming from the attack, the passenger disembarks the winged beast. The beast moans for the last time as it is suddenly caught in a final intense light beam, and explodes. A piece of the creatures lands on Kratos' shoulder. He grimaces for a moment, and flicks it away. As the Judgement spell ends, he looks around at the devastation. "Humph. I haven't used that in a long time..." He chuckles slightly. "I guess I don't know my own strength anymore."

The now mountless creature, hovering mysteriously in the air, eyes the falling remains of it's former pet. It stares back at Kratos and growls some in irritation. "You imputant human. How dare you strike at me and my kind." The creature brushes dirt, blood, and skin off of itself, and sneers at him. "That was a nice try, but uttery pathetic. . . ." Kratos gasps, and slumps for a second. "No! It was ineffective. . . ." He whispered to himself, unaware that this creature heard him. "That is correct." Kratos startles and returns his attention to his unharmed foe. "Unlike my pet, and most of my army you see before you, I am uneffected by your silly tricks." The monster raises another of it's four arms in the air...

A horde of about 100 other smaller grotesque alienish monsters gather behind this enemy, ready to attack at a moments notice. Kratos looks around at the gathering. "... So, you must be the leader of these... things." The army of creatures growl and hiss at the remark, but the leader cuts them off. "We are Tarivians." The creature pauses. "That is all you need to know." Kratos lowers his hands slightly, but still keeping guard. "What is it that you seek?" The alienish master removes it's cloak, revealing it's hidden form. Kratos' face turns in disgust as it looks the thing over. The master creature begins to charge it's odd looking body. "Where are the two books we gave Yggdrasil, human? Tell me before I decide to end your life here and now." Kratos thinks for a few seconds, trying to reason what this thing was talking about. The creature interrupts his thoughts. "The two books of darkness! Where are they!" It hisses with impatience. Kratos gasps in shock realizing instantly what this enemy looked for, but he remained calm and vigil in his demeanor. "What do you want with the Necronomicon and the Book of the Underworld?" He states with worry. The Tarivian grins slightly. "Ahh, so you do know what I am talking about after all." It points a now blueish glowing finger at Kratos. "Good, this makes things interesting." It snarles, showing dripping sharp fangs. "Tell me where they are, human." Kratos' eyes narrow and he quickly raises his guard once again, silently preparing a Guardian spell. "Those books are pure evil, and highly dangerous. I will never tell you what I know of them." The monster opens the palm of it's hand. "Then you leave me no choice." It sneered a bit.

The same strange glow upon the enemy's hand appeared around Kratos' body, and he looks around in some concern. "What is--" The rest of his statement is cut off as the Tarivian leader squeezes it's hand, and a surge of pain courses through Kratos, sufficating him from the inside out. He shuts his eyes and struggles to fight the attack. "No!" He shouts. "For the sake of those I care for, you will never get your hands on those books!" He cries out in severe pain. "No!" A green glow appears around the blue one and Kratos tenses his body even further. He struggles to lift his shielded arm in front of him, and opens his palm. "Guardian!" He shouts as the spell's green glow surrounds his body, expanding, destroying the blue glow of the opposing spell, and cancelling the enemy attack. The two colors of spells intertwine with one another above his head, and explode around him. Kratos shields himself, and as the dust settles, readies himself for battle. He sinks into deep emotional thought for a moment as he stares at his foe throught the dust and smoke. _'This may be my final act, but I do it for my son.'_ He tightens his grip on his sword, the Irving, and light seems to envelope both the mysterious blade and him as well. The dust finally dissipates, and the opposing forces stare intently at one another. "Human! You will not win this fight! Give it up!" Kratos grits his teeth as he places both hands on the hilt of the sword, and holds it off to his side, in attack postion. "Never!" He shouts as he takes off at blazing speed after the leader, intent on taking it down, no matter what. The Tarivian leader glances at his army and puts up his hand, then points at Kratos. "Kill him! Tear him to shreds and feed him to our beasts!"

As the enormous entrage impacts one another only seconds later, a large flash of light emits through Derris-Kharlan, and several more of the leader's soldiers disintegrate into pieces from the massive surge of blinding light! As Kratos and the Tarivian leader continue to fight one another sword to hand, rumbling is heard all over the crumbling world, and it finally begins to break up for the last time. As chunks of rock begin to fall, the whole world is turned chaotic in a matter of minutes. "We've done our damage here! Tarivians, retreat!" Saids the now injured leader of the mysterious race.

Tarivian upon Tarivian make haste in leaving the dying planet of Derris-Kharlan. As Kratos kills a few more, he tries to go after the leader one last time, before it exits the atmosphere of the world. Just as he was about to catch up, a group of soldier Tarivians protecting the leader turn to face Kratos and all at once, fire a mysterious energy beam at him, catching him off guard. He startles and tries to cast Guardian once again. . . . but it's too late, and the attacks hit home. . . . "Dammit. No. . . ." He saids as he drifts in and out of conciousness, falling into the crumbling world below. . . .

. . . . and all goes black. . . .

Meanwhile, down on the new world. . . .

"Alright dad, I'm going on that delivery now! I'll be back sometime tomarrow!" Shouts a tall young girl of age 16 with blondish brown hair, brown eyes, and a slender, but voluptous build. She finishes loading some packages onto a familiar vessel, outside of a familiar location, under the bright sun of a beautiful autumn afternoon. A man of the mid-thirties glances out of a window of a small house hidden in the woods, and nods slightly. "Alright, just be careful, okay? You know of the rising tension around here I hope." The girl shrugs some. "Yeah, yeah." She boards the small vessel. "Don't worry dad, I'll be fine. I am a big girl after all." She chuckles. The man's eyes narrow some. "Terra. Just keep your guard up." He looks down some. "I don't wish to lose my daughter too. . . ." She cocks her head some in sympathy. "We still have mom. . . ." She rolls her eyes and chuckles some. "When she's not at the Martel temple, that is." She pauses and checks over her things. "And you said yourself that your father is alive, so he's still here too. . . ." The man's eyes widen some and he glances at her again. "Yeah, about that. . . . Terra y--" She waves good bye to him, and interrupts him. "We'll talk later! If you want this delievered by tonight, I've gotta get going!" She presses a small combination of buttons on the vessel, and it turns on. Colored flames shoot out from the back of it, and it hovers in the air some. "See ya dad! Tell mom I'll be home later tomarrow! Someone have that next delievery ready when I get back, okay?" Just before the man could finish his statement, the vehicle rises, and quickly dissappears through the trees.

The man sighs as he goes to the window, just catching the end of the steam trail left behind by the vehicle as it flies off towards it's destination. "Terra. . . . you have no idea how great my father really is. He's more of a hero than I ever was." He sinks into emotional thought as he goes back to the smithery area in the tiny house. _'Kratos. . . .'_ A now 36 year old Lloyd Irving thinks to himself as he does what he does best, next to fighting--blacksmithing. He lays a recently cooled piece of metal atop a large anvil, and begins work on it. _'20 years have passed since you left, and I still haven't told her about you.'_ He hangs his head, and with a dirty gloved hand, wipes some tears from his eyes, causing soot to smear across his face. _'It's just so hard to do without Dirk around to help me. Will she even understand any of it?'_ He stops working for a moment and heads outside to look at the sky. _'I guess if I were nearly as smart as you are, that would help huh?'_ He laughs some at that thought, but stops as his expression changes to sadness. _'I miss you. . . .'_ He pauses to take a long drawn out breath. _'To most people in this world, Derris-Kharlan is nothing but an abandoned memory.'_ He shakes his head to clear his mind, and he looks at the sky again. "But I'll never forget it. . . . or you." And with that, heads back inside to continue work.

Night falls as Terra reaches her destination of New Mizuho. "Phew, finally here." She sighs with relief as she disembarks the vehicle. A woman and man of late 30's and early 40's walk towards Terra as she unloading her shipment. "So, that old girl is still holding up, huh?" States the tall, long red-haired man cloaked in a fine white and green Mizuhoen outfit. A fancy sword lay resting in an extravigant sheeth belted to his back, and strapped to his arm is a small round shield. The voluptuous, short black-haired woman, draped in a very fine purple Mizuhoen robe made of silk, approaches the vehicle. "That Rheaird has been through a lot, but I see it's been well cared for." Terra startles some, and turns to face them. She bows slightly in their presence. "Chief Fujibayashi, Master Wilder. . . ." The man winks at her. "I told you a thousand times to call me Zelos. And, you don't have to do that bowing thing you know." He saids with a chuckle. "It's just. . . ." Terra saids hesitantly. The woman pats her back. "And I told you, please call me Sheena." She laughs some. "I hate that formal stuff." She winks at her. "You're Lloyd's kid. It means your family to us." Zelos nods and Terra blushes some. "Y--yeah." She rubs the back of her head. "Thanks. . . ." Zelos looks over the packages on the Rheaird. "So, what's you dad got for us this time?" Terra turns around to retrieve the packages. "Oh, just--"

Before she could finish speaking, a huge burst of light is seen from a single star in the sky, catching their attention. It quickly disappears afterwards. "Okay, that was just weird." Zelos commented as they look at the star. Terra moves her head to the side, and then turns to Sheena and Zelos. "What was that?" Sheena shrugs. "Who knows? The sky seems to act weird every night now." She pauses. "Just the other night, it turned a freakish red color." Zelos scratches his head, and glances at Sheena. "Huh? I didn't notice." Sheena rolls her eyes. "That's because even though we were outside last night, you were too preoccupied with--" Zelos waves his hand at her. "Heh heh. . . . Ahh, Sheena. Kid here." She blushes and clears her throat. "Heh. . . . yeah." She catches the sight of an odd meteor shower as she observes the sky. "Hey, look at those meteors falling from the sky. . . ." Terra and Zelos look back up at the sky, and at the shower. "They look like they have purple auras around them." Terra comments. Zelos' eyes narrow. . . . like he could sense something wrong. "It couldn't be--" He whispers to himself. Sheena looks at him, with some worry.

His statement, like Terra's, was cut short when the sound of a large meteor impacting off in the distance startles them. "What the hell was that!" Sheena shouts as they turn their attention to the location of the impact sight. Another bright flash of white light emits and disappears. . . . then all seems to go silent. . . . "Sheena stay here with Terra. I'll go investigate this." Sheena looks at him, and nods hesitantly. "Okay. . . . You know people will be looking into this soon. Especially the military." She grabs his hand, much to his suprise. "Be careful. . . ." They share a small kiss. "I'm always careful baby." He saids with a charming voice. "Terra, I'm gonna borrow this, alright?" She looks at him, and smirks. "Fine. But it's my dad's, so I get to go with you in exchange. Got it?" He smirks back and chuckles some. "Bossy, aren't we? Just like your old man." He saids jokingly. He sighs. "Alright, come on. Nobody ever stopped you from doing what you wanted, before." She smiles and gets on the Rheaird. "Great. Now, get on. I'm driving." He rubs the back of his head and gives her a strange look. "Sheesh. Just like him. . . ." He states while boarding the Rheaird behind her. She enters a combination, and they rise into the air. Sheena chuckles. "Hey Terra, Zelos can be a pain in the ass sometimes, in case you didn't know! Just knock him off of the Rheaird if he gets too annoying, alright?" Zelos looks down at her, shakes his head smiling. "I love you too Sheena." He states with a laugh afterwards.

And with that, Terra flies off with Zelos to the site of the large meteor. . . .

**RP #2 - Confused God. Posted on 10-12-05**

_Rusty and Taren walked, as they often did, though the unfamilar wilderness. Their destination was New Mizuho, where they would stock up on supplies to continue their journey towards the site of the fallen Tower of Salvation. There was no real point to it, it was really just sightseeing, exploring the world, and perhaps a little training. Both Rusty and Taren hated the common lives they grew up in, and both of them thirsted for knowledge and adventure. As for adventure, they were about to hit the jackpot._

_Rusty looked up at the now darkend sky, and admired the stars. It was calming, but something suddenly startled him. There was a bright green flicker where one star had been, then nothing._

"Taren, did you see that?"

_Taren looked back at Rusty with a puzzled glance._

"See what? Oh, stargazing again, huh? No, I was looking where we were walking, one of us has to. Seriously, if it wasn't for me, you would've walked off some cliff and died by now."

_Rusty smirked. Taren had an amusing ability to poke fun at people. Nothing insulting, just common humor. Perhaps it was so funny because of all people, he was one with the most problems. It was a way of distracting himself from his past, causing laughter. Rusty sighed and pointed up to where he had been looking._

"Right there. Some star just suddenly flashed green and disappeared. It was pretty cool."

_Taren shook his head._

"Sounds more like you're hallucinating to me. Maybe you're starting to get a little too tired. Traveller's Dellusion."

_Rusty grunted through a smile. Then his expression turned to slight anticipation. Maybe Taren was actually getting to something; it had been a little more than a day since they had last slept. He was feeling hungry too...really hungry now that he thought about it._

_Rusty sighed and glanced up, only to be taken by surprise once again. Before him was now a meteor shower of pelting debris, all surrounded by strange glows of purple. Rusty nudged Taren and pointed up again. He wasn't dellusional after all. Taren gasped at the sight._

"I've never seen anything like it...I wonder how large those meteors are, some of them look like they might be able to break the atmosphere."

_Rusty's attention was now directed on a particularly large meteor, which was glowing red from the atmospheric entry, but didn't seem to be crumbling or disintigrating at all._

"Taren, look at that one. It looks like it could make it through the atmosphere...how long do you think that would take?"

_Taren shrugged as he stared up at the meteor in question._

"No idea. Probably at least a few minutes I would thi..."

_His sentence was cut off as they meteor suddenly shot down from the sky and in seconds had slammed into the ground only a few miles ahead, creating a sonic boom that racked pain throughout Rusty's ears. He and Taren clasped their hands over their ears before being knocked backwards onto their side by the shockwave. They rolled over and braced themselves as a huge dust cloud blew over them. After a few moments, the dust began to settle and the two arose, coughing in the thick, stifling air of debris. Rusty's eyes watered as he gasped._

"Ugh, I think I just swallowed a bunch of dust! Gack, what a horrible taste, how are you supposed to breathe like this?"

_Taren held the inside of his elbow over his mouth and Rusty followed the idea by holding his clock over his. They looked ahead, trying to peer through the whirlwind of slowly settling dust, and started to make out the outline of a crater. With unspoken agreement, they began to approach the crater to see just what the commotion was. _

**RP #3 - Abyssion. Posted 10-15-05**

When Raiden finally arrived at Meltokio he found his father getting dragged by a man in a dark cloak with a strange symbol on it. He ignored it for now and hid between statues, corners of walls, anything that could hide himself. after about 4 minutes of struggling and dragging the man, a few bulky guards, and his father went inside the doors of the coliseum. Raiden's eyebrow twitched while peeking out of a corner of a house while watching them enter with such emotion. Raiden soon followed inside stealthily, keeping his distance so as to not be caught. The men finally entered the preparations room and undressed and dressed Regal into shaggy clothes and gave him a short sword with a basic wooden handle. Regal then twirled it around examining it, then threw it to the ground. He then took some string he had found hiding on a hook across the room and tied his hands with it.

"This is how I fight. If I am to win then I will win without the use of my hands."

He then finished tieing it and stretched for his upcoming death match.

Raiden soon reached his father and wandered his eyes at him with concern of his status. When he found his father struggling with stretches and exercises he spoke.

"Father please stop and help me find a way to break these bars."

"I can handle this Raiden. I may be getting old but I still have the power to strike down my enemies."

And with that Regal fell in pain. His hamstring gave out while doing kicks he used in the time of his great adventure. Raiden with a burst of strength bent the cell bars out enough for him to slip through. He then walked with great speed to his father to help him up. Regal accepted his aid and was put on a bench to rest his muscles. He put his hands where the pain was and started massaging it and hissing like a snake in pain. Raiden then looked at the surroundings fiddling with the bottom strap of his brassard. He sadly found nothing and started tempting his father to come out and run back home.

"No son I must fight. If I should die then it is my time. Don't worry about me I should be fine……I think."

"I think isn't a good thought father. Hmm…I have an idea. What if I fight whatever comes out of that gate for you? Then you can be set free and we can go home."

"I said no son! Now please go somewhere where you can't be found. I don't want my son being held in this pit of death as well as I"

Raiden's face then turned to anger and sadness simultaneously and left to find a place where he could watch his father and not be seen. He found a seat next to a few dozen people wrapped in huge clocks and fabric around there faces and bodies. He adjusted his brassard and sheath so he could be comfortable. He watched arrow competitions and javelin throwing but all he could focus on was his father's match. With that the gladiator matches were about to begin, until that same strange man came out of a small room in the center stands of the coliseum. He had a crown on with the purest gold and jewels Raiden has ever seen in his life. He also had a red velvet shirt that was obviously too short for him as his hairy and disgusting belly was sticking out of the bottom. He had black shaggy pants on and that same odd cloak with the symbol on the back. He raised his hands and with that the crowd stood silent. He then spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen! This match-up is one of a kind. Today we will feature two of the worlds greatest warriors known to man. Please give a warm welcome to REGALLL!"

After his announcement the door on Raiden's left suddenly opened, surely but slowly and soon enough Regal was pushed out of the long hallway inside the coliseum. Regal's face was down so the people could not see him. He then walked a few steps to the middle of the fighting arena and stood there with his head still down. The man up top on the balcony chuckled at him and gave an evil grin, then cleared his throat and raised his hands once again to simmer the crowd down.

"Now my fellow people. His opponent is none other than the massive, colossal, vast MUNATIUSSS!"

Suddenly the doors blasted open to Raiden's right and out came a mammoth creature. From head to toe he was enormous. His arms were about four times the size of Raiden's and his stomach was the biggest part of him. He wore a giant helm with a row of feathers going down the middle of his helm. It was nearly impossible to see his face but you could hear his hard breathing. What was odd was that he also had a brassard but his shoulder plate was on his left shoulder and Raiden's was on his right. In his left hand he had a great axe. About 3 times the size of Presea's. its large stature rested on his big black shoulder plate. In his right hand was a morning star of great size and power. The chain between the spiked club and the handle was long and rusty. The spiked club was unbelievable. It had a prodigious design. This club wasn't round like usual morning stars, but this was oblong but still full of bloody spikes and that terrorized Raiden. He wore a plate skirt that reached to his enormous knees and calves, and at his feet were some normal strap sandals. This creature was petrifying to Raiden as his eyebrows raised and his eyes widened. Raiden knew Regal couldn't win this fight, especially with just his legs as his weapon.

As the crowd cheered and placed bets on Regal and Munatius, Munatius dropped his axe to the ground holding just the handle, and started swinging the morning star. Faster and faster it went and as it got to the point where it couldn't get any faster, he yelled an eerie war cry. You couldn't see his eyes but he knew he was staring Regal down. Regal then looked up after the war cry and just looked him up and down trying to find weak points. And with that the mysterious man called the start of the match. Both of them stood there. Regal still examining his opponent and Munatius still swinging his power-house of a weapon. Soon enough Munatius stopped swinging his "death ball" and picked up his axe and started charging at Regal like an angry bull. Just before he reached him he spun the club at his side and attempted a hammering blow as to crush Regal's skull. Regal stepped to the side without a flinch and kicked Munatius's right side as hard as he could. In conclusion he just hurt himself more than Munatius. Munatius laughed a booming laugh and tried slicing Regal from the side with his great axe. Regal leaped up and with ferocity kneed Munatius in the helmet in endeavor to stun Munatius and give Regal time to anticipate his next move. In relief it did stun him for a few seconds and also dizzied him which also gave Regal a better chance to take down his enemy. Regal tried everything but failed and with that was struck down by the towering Munatius. Regal was unable to get up considering Munatius's foot was pinned on his stomach. He then looked at the man in the balcony to get the orders to either spare him or kill him. The man's thumb was sideways and with a smirk, it went down. Munatius then looked at Regal, dropped his morning star and raised his axe with both hands. And before he trusted it down, a sword flew into Munatius's leg. Munatius then dropped his axe and backed up in pain. Then ripped it out quickly and threw it aside. Raiden popped down by Regal and helped him up.

"Hmm, I guess your sword was of use after all."

The mysterious man was ultimately furious and summoned guards to seize Raiden and Regal. In a matter of seconds a swarm of Guards surrounded the two with their spears pointed almost up to their necks. Raiden, remembering his only form of magic, summoned a huge windstorm to blow away the guards. But Raiden didn't realize the arena was made of sand and soon the sand flew around in circles and blinded everyone in the coliseum. Raiden quickly took his injured father and ran out the doors and snuck past the preparations room, then finally ran outside running as fast as they could out of Meltokio. They luckily made it and hopped onto the rheiard Raiden flew on and with that they flew home.

As they got home Raiden carried his father and placed him on his bed, then called the doctor to come immediately. The doctor soon came and was tending to Regal's wounds and Raiden sent out to find the vice president. He soon found him and with a fiery passion he started chewing him out.

"Did you really think you could kill us?"

"I..uh.."

"Save it you little worm! I never want to see you in this city ever again. And if I see you I will personally make sure you don't breathe again. Got it!"

"yes. Please let me go."

Raiden threw him to the ground and went back to find his father.

When he arrived Regal went to him slowly as to not hurt himself. He then told Raiden Lloyd's daughter and Zelos were checking something out and that you should meet up with them and help them incase there is trouble. Raiden didn't find the heart to argue with his father and nodded yes. Soon Raiden got all of his things prepared and took the rheiard to where Zelos and Terra were.

**RP #4 - Mamotreto. Posted 10-15-05**  
Author's note: Alright, I have my intro. Keep in mind that I am doing this for the first time as you read this.

Eno sat with his feet in the water, letting the cool liquid splash up and down his legs. In his mind, he was a happy person. He had food, he had his bow, and he had his lake. He thought he needed nothing more.

I also have my magic, he thought. I should do some practicing.

He stood up on the bank and concentrated. The water bent below him. He always tried shifting the water a bit for a warm up, before making doing any actual moves. Besides, he enjoyed his power to manipulate the water.

Okay, Eno thought, time for the real stuff.

"Spread," he thought, not wanting to start to difficult. It was a strong enough move, but it didn't take too much energy.

A column of water in the lake rose high into the air. If only I had a target, thought Eno. That would make this much more challenging.

Eno looked to the sky as his water fell apart underneath itself. The stars were all out tonight, bright and shining.

And then one of them seemed odd to Eno. He only caught it with the corner of his eye, but something seemed to have moved. He stood for a while, wondering what it was, until a strange meteor shower started to fill the night sky.

Odd, he thought.

And then a large meteor seemed to come out of the sky, and headed straight for (insert name of new planet here). It glowed red when it hit the atmosphere, but it didn't break apart much. Eno couldn't shake the feeling that it was coming right at him.

No way, he thought. It can't hit here. The odds are so big that it just can't happen. Of course, it does have to land somewhere…

It broke through the atmosphere and continued to fall, gaining speed as it went. Eno became worried. It looked as if it was going to land somewhere near him, if not right on top.

And land near him it did. Not one hundred feet away, either. It came crashing into the ground. The blast knocked several trees to the ground, and Eno had to hold on to a large rock to avoid being blown away. He turned his head as grass and dirt slammed against his face.

When he opened his eyes the forest was on fire.

No, he thought, scared.

I have to concentrate. I can't let the situation get the better of me. I know I can do this.

While Eno tried to gain his calm, the forest he loved so much blazed. The fire seemed to spread by the second, and there was plenty of stuff to burn.

I have to do this now!

Eno closed his eyes. He let the manna flow within his body.

"Tidal Wave!"

The water splashed and flowed from what seemed like the air. Where it met the fire, there was a blast of steam. All over the forest it rose. Eno continue to put energy into the move until he couldn't hold it any longer.

Eno opened his eyes. The fire was gone! A few things were a little soggy, but overall, everything was okay.

It's a good thing I'm good with water magic, he thought. And now to see what caused all this.

Eno grabbed his blade and bow, just in case, and walked slowly to the crash site.

**RP #5 - Captain Sagara. Posted 10-15-05**

Kalas' eyes twitched slowly.

His mind had been free, but his body had been trapped for 15 years.

The meteors had stirred Kalas, he had been dormant in the deepest part Gaoricchia for so long, waiting, hoping, watching his body from his mind's eye, longing for someone to come and awaken him.

BOOM.

A meteor, not far off, crahed into the monument erected for Origin so many years ago.

Concsienceness was what Kalas had dreamed for for so long, but now, his peace was interupted, and he didn't know how to take it, he couldn't know how to take it.

The last thing Kalas knew was the fight at the lightning temple, the ground shaking, so similarly to what it was doing right now, feeling the concussions through his body, and something else, that he could not recognize, something else that was so foreign to his body, and at that point in time he only cared for himself, he didn't care what happened to anyone else, he felt fear.

Fear drove him, he crept around Volt and struck him, he knew, his instincts told him, that something was going to go wrong, Sheena was stumbling over her words, and he could sense the anger and hatred in Volt, and knew that he would kill her. So he did what he could only do, he fought, angered Volt, provoked him, tried to divert his attention from the only person he cared about.

Volt turned around at Kalas, saw the fear in his eyes, and struck him down, Kalas knew he had to sacrifice hismelf, he didn't know, however, that he had to sacrifice so much more to calm the beast. Volt went on a rampage, he struck many of the Mizuhoens down, those Kalas cared for, and those he did not. As Kalas fell slowly, he noticed that Volt was charging Sheena, and fear consumed Kalas, his younger sister, one of the onyl people he cared for, was in trouble. He tried to move but found himself paralyzed, and lost conscienceness.

When he awoke he was back in Mizuho, in the cheif's hut.

He though he was alone, but he turned to see that everyone was gathered around his grandfather, the cheif of Mizuho. Kalas jumped forward and held the cheif's hand as he slipped into a deep coma, he had lost his grandfather, and he didn't know what has become of his sister, he felt so alone, so afraid.

The Mizuhoens angrily swarmed Kalas, and, his sense numbed, he stood there like a dumbstruck fool, listening, feeling the bite of their harsh words, and he thought to himself that they were the fools, that they had been so wrapped up in what happened that they could not see what he prevented.

He was overcome, like so many times before, with hate, and he slowly reached for his kodachi, and silenced the voices.

He was banished to gaoricchia, and it became taboo to speak of him.

In gaoricchia though, he climbed the tallest trees and peered out to Mizuho, wondering if anyone still thought of him.

He felt lonely, and over time he slowly went mad, he killed everything he saw, and left them dead were they dropped, he ahd only killed for necessity in his first few months in exilment, but he started slowly enjoying the smell of blood, the fell of it's warmth against his skin, he was no longer shaken by the blank expression he left on his vicitim's face, the blankness in their eyes.

He had come to rule the forest, but one day, hiding amoung the trees, before he even saw him, he felt the intense pain and dark energy coming from him, the sword dancer, and without thinking, he rushed at it, just as he had done so with so many other worthless foes.

But the sword dancer was different, Kalas tried to fight him, but the sword dancer had something that all Kalas' other opponents did not, the sword dancer didn't just fight with instincts, he fought with feeling and emotion, something that Kalas had slowly forgotton about over his time in Gaoricchia. He knew he had to continue to fight, but hehad no chance, he was beaten by his own arrogance, and locked away by the sword dancer, in a state of dormancy.

He had used this time to reflect upon his actions and words, he had nothing else he could do, and he felt sorry for the widowed families back in Mizuho, but knew there was nothing he could have done about it, and knew there was nothing he could do about it now. He slowly came upon epiphinies, and realized why emotions and feelings were so important to him, and he felt regret, something he had not felt before, and knew what he would change if he ever regained his humanity.

Since that say, when Sheena and other unrecognizable fighters slayed the sword dancer, it's spell has been weakening on Kalas, and now, with such immense dark power released into the Earth by the meteors, Kalas was awoken.

After so many years of being held dormant, his bodily function frozen with him, all he could do was fall over when he was so quickly rebooted.

And he remained there, until he finally gained control over his body once more.

**RP #6 - AngelicAura616. Posted 10-15-05**

CLANG!

Aaron was swinging his sabers every direction, trying to hit the man. The man kept blocking. The man tried to stab Aaron, but Aaron dodged, then did a counter-swing at the man's legs, which he dodged. A drop of sweat trickled down Aaron's face and landed on his saber. They were running and fighting at the same time, going between and through bushes and up and down trees.

"Urg, damnit! Fine, ready?" Aaron asked, rhetorically, and stuck a saber out in front of him, pointed at the man, "BOLT!"

Lightning struck the saber held in front of him, and was sent out through the tip, which struck the man. He clenched the place where it swung, and was stunned. Aaron ran at the man and swung, and the man dodged it. Then, all of a sudden, the scene changed to desert.

"What...gah! I hate you guys! I can't use my lightning spells! There's no clouds in sight!" Aaron yelled at people who weren't there.

The man kicked sand in the air, which went towards Aaron's eyes, and swung his own sword.

"Gust!" Aaron shouted, quickly enough to blow the sand away, and even to pick up more sand, which landed in the man's eyes. He fell over rubbing them. Aaron was about to stab the man, but the scene changed once again. This time into an island under a heavy storm. A piece of hail the size of a golf ball hit Aaron's saber, and it was blown into a house. Suddenly, even more hail flew at them.

"Water Barrier!"

A shield of water, flowing in circles around them, surrounded the two. The hail was being deflected by this shield.

"So, you're GIVING me a storm! That makes things much easier!" Aaron shouted to the people who weren't there again.

Aaron raised his one saber left to the top of the shield, and a hole appeared in it.

"Cross-breeze!"

The man stared at Aaron in a state of terror.

"Ha, you know what's going on then?"

The man continued to stare. This was one of Aaron's most powerful spells, and everybody knew Aaron's powerful spells. He was quite popular in the Iselia-Triet militia.

The shield began to fall, and the wind began to increase. The hail had disappeared, and rain took it's place. The clouds were swirling. A funnel was forming, but the funnel was much larger than a hurricane.

"GALE OF DESTRUCTION!"

The funnel touched the ground. The clouds around them were doubling, and lightning was flashing from each one. Aaron began panting.

"RAIN OF LIGHTNING!"

Lightning began striking everywhere, with only half-second intervals. The objects around them began to be sucked into the funnel cloud. Aaron was panting even heavier.

"WRATH OF THE OCEAN!"

The sea around the island began to rise, flooding the shores. Aaron was now wheezing, and appeared to be light-headed. He was shaking badly.

"FURY OF THE GODS!"

The island was slowly succumbing to the forces. It was decomposing at an alarming rate. Then, Aaron collapsed, but the spells still continued. He just layed on the ground, breathing heavily and coughing, and slowly he fell into unconsciousness.

A man splashed some water over Aaron's face, reviving him to consciousness.

"Damnit, Aaron! How many times have we told you? DO NOT SLAUGHTER YOUR OPPONENT! It's a lot of paperwork if you killed him." a voice boomed above him.

"Heh, I'm sorry. I get really into this. Plus, I love my job here." Aaron explained, regaining up to his feet.

"You'd better! You're a Major, not to mention one of our military's best spellcasters, even if your extremely powerful spells take away a lot of your energy." the person said.

"That's what happens when you're raised by the best spellcasters in the Iselia-Triet region." Aaron told.

"Well, Aaron, you passed your evaluation. I mean, look at this man," the scientist said, waving his hand in front of the man's face, "He's unconscious! And you never really did anything to him other than that bolt spell!"

"When I cast those spells, I give that effect."

Aaron exited the room, but was stopped immediatly by a new recruit.

"The Grand Major has received news about a meteor striking far over near Ozette. He figures you're the best one to go examine what's happened. Also, we've received word that shortly before the meteor hit, a Rheiard was seen flying away from the Iselia Forest." the recruit told.

"Terra...what did you do this time?" Aaron whispered.

"What, Sir?"

"Oh, tell him that I'm leaving to see now."

"Yes, Sir!"

Aaron ran off for Genis and Raine's house.

"Hey, Genis, I'm taking your Rheiard if you don't mind." Aaron said.

"Why do you need it?" Raine questioned.

"Military business. A meteor struck over by Ozette." Aaron explained.

Raine and Genis looked at each other, and nodded.

"We're coming with." Raine said.

"Why?"

"That's where Sheena and Zelos live. We want to see if they're okay!" Genis explained.

"Fine, but we need to leave NOW!" Aaron demanded.

"Hang on, give me a second to pack some things we might need." Raine told.

She quickly ran over to a cupboard and pulled out some potions and food.

"Just in case." she explained.

Not too much longer, Raine, Genis, and Aaron were flying off towards Ozette.

"Terra, please be okay..." Aaron murmered.

After a short while, they could see the meteor, and quickly landed near it.

"Be on your guard. Animals and people might be scared, and attack us." Raine explained.

Genis and Aaron nodded.

**RP #7 - White Rose. Posted 10-15-05**

The sky was dark. Very dark. Like the hair of a pure black cat, kind of dark. Heavy clouds had started to form in the sky only moments earlier, and the air was becoming moist. Zelos whistled as he and Terra flew towards the scene of the meteor crash, observing all around him. The winds had picked up tremendously, and the water that they were flying over was all churned up and quite violent. "Wow. This is really strange." Zelos commented as he continued to look around. Terra glanced back for a second, then refocuses her attention to the Rheaird and their destination. "What is?" He glances at her, and looks back out. "This. This whole thing." His eyes narrow as he gazes up at the sky. "What's going on around here?" Terra tilts her head, puzzled. "Isn't this just a thunderstorm? I mean it's not like--"

Terra's eyes widen, and she gasps as she looks at some shadowy figure coming at them at a high speed. "Whoa! Geez!" She shouts as she pulls the Rheaird hard to the right, avoiding the thing, and almost knocking Zelos and herself off of the small vessel. "Hey! What's the idea! I haven't done anything!" Zelos retorts as Terra straightens the Rheaird, and they pull themselves back onto it. She glances back a bit frightened. "What in hell was that!" Zelos looks at her a bit puzzled, and worried. "What was what? I didn't see anything. . . ." He saids as he glances behind them, catching something in his sights. "Wait a sec--" Zelos' statement was cut short. Whatever this thing was had quickly disappeared from the atmosphere. Terra looks back at him. "I know meteors have been falling, but that didn't look like any meteor I've ever seen. . . ." Zelos nod in agreement, and clutches the hilt of his sword. "Stay here and take control of the Rheaird. I'll protect us." Terra almost chokes and she turns around to look at him. "What! Are you cr--"

Before she could finish, Zelos had dropped from the Rheaird, and was spiralling towards the water. "Zelos! What are you doing!" She shouts to him, and quickly stops the Rheaird. As she turned her attention to down below her, Zelos seemed to give off an orange glow, and feathers began to appear around him. Her eyes widened and she gasped. Suddenly, orange wings appeared on his back, and he pulled up just before reaching the water, preventing a very painful demise. He flew back up to her side. "You didn't think I'd just drop to my death, did you?" He closed his eyes and smiled at her. "Heh. You were actually worried about me." He said with a small chuckle. "You're so cute Terra." He said in his usual, charming voice. She just stared at him totally suprised, not knowing what to think. He raised an eyebrow. "Hey, are you gonna say something?" Her expression changes to extreme anger, and Zelos' eyes widen with fear. "You're damned right I'll say something!" She nails him across the face with a mean back hand. "Ow! What was that for!" He shouts in anger as he rubs his face. "Don't do idiotic things like that!" She yells back as looks him over with a startled and perplexed expression. "And. . . . since when can humans fly!" She states again, still suprised over witnessing that. Zelos seemed a bit suprised at her reaction, and he delves into thought for a moment while looking at Terra with some concern. _'Man Lloyd, how much have you kept from your own daughter all these years? She doesn't know anything, does she?'_ He snaps out of his thought and draws his sword. "Look, I'm sorry I shocked you, alright?" He saids while placing his free hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean to." She stares at him and at his wings. "How did you?--" He takes his hand off and flies above her. "It's not important Terra." She looks up at him. "Just go, I'll keep up." He yells a bit from up high. "If we have any more trouble like that, I'll take care of it." He finishes with.

Meanwhile, back at Dirk's house.

"I knew something wasn't right when I saw the sky earlier tonight. That sound must've been something from this weird meteor shower." Realization dawned on Lloyd, and he ran outside. "That meteor I heard sounded like it fell near where Terra was going! Dammit! I hope she's okay!" He looks out towards the Iselia forest entrance. "I'd better go get Colette. She has a Rheaird stored at the Martel Temple!" He ran off into the forest, and on his way to the temple where Colette was at. . . .

Back out over the ocean. . . .

"Do you see anything Zelos?" Terra shouts as they continue towards the crash site. The land was but a few miles in the distance, and the dust from the large rock had not yet cleared around the area. "No. It's hard to see anything!" As they enter the humongous dust cloud, both sheild their faces as much as possible as the sand, ash, and debris sweeps by them covering them from head to toe in a mountain of dirt. "This is nuts! How am I suppose to fly this thing?" Zelos looks down at her for a moment. "You!" He comments. "What about me? I'm getting seriously pelted here!" Terra looks around as much as she could, spotting what looked like a canopy of trees up ahead. "I'm gonna go lower. See if I can find a place to land this." Zelos sighs. "Alright. I'll be right behind you."

Terra decends into the dust cloud, and eventually gets under it. She finds a clearing just within a forest and lands the Rheaird. She gets off and brushes herself off, coughing at the same time. Eventually, Zelos makes it down to ground as well. He coughs some, and brushes himself off as well. Looking around, he spots what looks like purple light coming from up ahead. "I think we're right near the site. Let's get going." He saids as he starts to run out of the forest. Terra stands still for a moment, still unsure of Zelos. _'Who are you?'_ She thinks to herself as she stares at him with narrowed eyes.

Zelos is almost out of the forest when he stops and turns around. "Terra come on! This is no time for games!" He tilted his head and laughed at himself some, and started thinking for a moment. _'Geez. . . .That's not how I use to act.'_ He sighs and slumps foward. "Sheena's got me whipped." He whimpers as he lets his head drop. He raises it, and shakes it to clear his mind, waiting for Terra to catch up a few minutes later. "Hey. Are you alright?" He asks, sensing some tension in her. "Yeah. Fine." She states slowly, trying not to look at him too much. They start to head out. "Okay. I believe you." He saids, giving her a slightly strange look as well.

They finally make it to the crash site about 20 minutes later. They stare at a large meteor protruding out from a huge crater that had ripped through the ground. "Holy sh--" Zelos starts. He pauses to look it all over. "This crater's the size of Meltokio. . . ." Terra looks at him and gasps, covering her mouth. "This is insane. . . ." She approaches the rock. "Look how big this rock is. . . ." She saids while touching it. The rock is hot to the touch, and she quickly moves her hand away shaking the slight burn off, and looks down into the hole, which is filled by many, many chunks of meteorites and debris. A familiar smell seems to fill the air as well. Terra closes her nose. "What is that smell? It's horrible!"

"That would be the stench of death my dear." Said the voice of a mysterious person, hiding nearby. Terra's eyes light up as she recognizes the voice. "Papa Merlin!" She exclaims as the old man appears from behind a rock. She runs to him and they hug. "Ehh, it's been too long Terra. You're as beautiful as ever I see." He saids with a warm smiling face and a chuckle. Terra laughs. Zelos looks at him. "Old man Merlin. Never thought I'd see your wrinkled face around here." Merlin breaks away from Terra and starts to slowly run towards Zelos with a wooden staff raised. "Dang it! Ya blasted whippersnapper! I'll teach y--" His statement is cut off as his long beard catches beneath his feet, causing him to trip. Zelos smacks his head with his hand, and laughs a little at Merlin under his breath. Merlin slowly rises to his feet, brushes himself off, and pulls the hair from his mouth. "Youngin, you'll learn to respect your elders one of these days." Zelos closes his eyes and smirks. "Pff. Whatever." He looks back at him. "When you start acting like an old man, I'll treat you like one." Merlin rubs the back of his head. "Heh heh. Nah. It'll never happen." Terra looks at Merlin. "How long have you been here, pops?" Merlin rubs his beard some, and tilts his head to one side, thinking a bit. "Ehh. . . . a while now I think. A few minutes, maybe an hour?" Both Zelos and Terra sigh. "That's okay Merlin, don't exert yourself." Zelos saids with a chuckle. Merlin walks up to him, and wacks him upside his head with his staff. Zelos falls in pain for a moment. "Make up your mind, ya damned hypocrite!" He saids as Zelos twitches on the ground like a bug, and a red bump appears on his head. "Ow. . . ." Zelos saids as he gets up and rubs his head. "Hey Terra? Will you keep this old geezer on a leash!"

Just as Merlin is about to whack Zelos again, Terra hears some strange muffled voices coming from deep below the crater. Rubble seems to move, and she dashes in between the two men, preventing any more confrontation. "Hold it you two! Don't you hear that?" Zelos and Merlin turn their attention towards the crater once again. "Hmm. Hear what?" Zelos states as the three look over the crater. Suddenly, the rubble bursts apart, causing debris to fly everywhere. Zelos gets in between Merlin and Terra, and a green glow appears from his body. He raises his arm and opens his palm after a few seconds.

"Guardian!" He shouts. The three are immediatly surrounded by a green orb of mana, protecting them from the debris. As the dust rises, about 20 shadowy figurines quickly take off into the sky. "Those things again! I know it!" Terra yells as they look at the dust cloud from with in the orb. "Ehh? What are ya babblin' about Terra? You're hurtin my ears." Terra slumps foward. "Sorry pops." She scratches her head. "But I could've sworn. . . ."

The dust cloud dissipates and Zelos lets Guardian end. "Phew. Forgot how much energy that took." He sighs as he bends foward, putting his hands on his knees. Merlin chuckles. "Humph. Who's the old one now?" Zelos looks at him angerily. "Look you old prune--" Terra hushes them as whitish blue light beams through the hole in the rubble. Zelos' eyes narrow once again. _'Somehow, I recognize that light. . . .'_ He thinks to himself as he cautiously walks over to the opening, and looks into it. The light grows brighter, and he covers his eyes. Feathers appear, like they did with Zelos just earlier.

The light flashes once more, before it disappears. Zelos uncovers his face and slowly flies into the hole, decending to the bottom, and landing next to a person, half buried under more rubble. "Huh?" He saids as he looks at what appears to be an arm sticking out of the rubble. It had a light purple glove on it. The glove covered the hand up to it's fingers and was torn slightly at the thumb side. Zelos also noticed what appeared to be a torn purple sleeve of some kind. "No way. . . . It can't be. . . ." He states with uncertainty. He closes his eyes, and sticks his hand out in front of him. A light green glow appears below him and he opens his palm.

"Wind Blade!" He saids as he looks targets the rocks covering the person. They hover for a minute, and then are shaved to dust which blow away in the breeze--thus revealing the body of the person. . . .

Zelos gasps in shock, and his jaw drops at the sight before him as he looks at a brown haired male lying face down, with blue shimmering wings, severe injuries covering every inch of his body, and clothes that were practically ripped off of him, scattered around him in pieces and strips.

"Kratos!"

**RP #8 - Captain Sagara. Posted 10-16-05**

Kalas regained conscieness again.

But this time, he could control his limbs.

Kalas slowly clambered to his feet.

He felt different from when he was locked away.

Not physically, but now, so glad to be alive again, he was so happy to be where he first considered his personal hell.

He clenched his fist, clenched his fist and held back the tears, the tears that had been welled up for so many years.

When Kalas was first exiled to the forest, he was a knife, an unruly dagger, the forest had shown him his faults and had serves as his sheath.

A black rose sprang up in the gorund in fornt of him.

This would be Kalas' gift to the forest, for being his sheath, he would sew the forest where he went, he would use the powers of the forest, the plants, the trees.

And the black rose would be his sign.

He felt another loyalty, to the meteor which had awoken him.

He slowly walked to the prodigious piece of Earth ahead of him.

He knew Sheena was there.

Over the years of being in his solitary confinment, his mind had traversed the immediate area, he was for once glad that the forest was so close to Mizuho.

He slowly gained speed, leaping from branch to branch, until he was at the forests' edge.

He recognized Sheena's aura, but couldn't force himself to go to her.

He watched as the scene unfolded.

"Someday..."

**RP #9 - cepussinboots. Posted 10-16-05**

"what do you thinks going on down there?" Merlin said to Terra, staring down in the big crevis where the meteor landed. "I have no idea..." terra replied. MErlin looked up at her "right hold my staff my dear" terra looked at him, "dont you dare" she said and grabbed his arm " i'm not letting you go down there" Merlin forced her hand off his arm,"look i have much more sklled magic then anyone i know, i've been training for 100 years for gods sake, so just trust me." merlin then took 5 steps back, and ran at the hole, to jump down it, but just before he got there he tripped over his beard again, and tumbled down the crevis down to wear zelos was, knocking zelos over.

**RP #10 - King Ridley. Posted 10-16-05**

Aegir stood at the edge of Exire, looking out at the sky. The sky was tinted red, and Aegir could see several meteors heading towards the ground.

"Isnt it beautiful?" asked a familar voice. Aegir turned towards the speaker. It was his sister, Ran. "What is beautiful?" Aegir questioned. "The sky, silly! DUH!" Ran replied. She gave her brother a light smack to the back of the head. "You seem different tonight. What's bothering you?"

Aegir stared towards the meteors for a while, before replying "Lloyd." Ran looked at him, very displeased with his answer. "Lloyd? What about Lloyd? Dont tell me your going on another search to find him!" "...I am," Aegir said, shifting his gaze towards his sister. "No!" she yelled. "No No NO! You arent going! You arent leaving me here again!" Aegir began to walk towards his home. Ran followed. "Why to you want to find Lloyd so badly! Why cant you just forgive and forget!"

Ran's last comment angered Aegir. "Forgive and forget? Have you forgotten what mortal sin Lloyd has performed? I'll refresh your memory in you forgot. HE KILLED FORCYSTUS! My best freind, Forcystus. I must not forget that. Nor will I ever forgive Lloyd for that. I must, and will, avenge the death of Forcystus. He was like a brother to me, family. What if Lloyd killed you Ran! Would you not want me to avenge you?" Ran did not answer. She did not want to anger Aegir any more. "That's what I thought," Aegir said.

Aegir went into his room, and closed the door. He retrived his guantlet, his dagger, and his arm cannon. He also grabbed a sack, and filled it with gels and other necesarry supplies. Finally, he put on his pendants, and opened one. Inside was a picture of the late Forcystus. Aegir started at it for a moment, then clasped it in his hand, and closed his eyes. "I will not fail you this time, old friend." Aegir opened his eyes and closed the pendant. He gathered his things, and opened the door. He then headed outside to his Rehaird.

Ran was waiting for him outside. She was sitting on Aegir's Rehaird "If I cant convince you to not go, then Im going with you!" she told Aegir. "No, youre not," he replied. "Why not?" Ran replied back. "You dont have time to pack," Aegir said. "I already did that!" Ran said, holding up her bag. Aegir created a new excuse. "It's too dangerous." "I can take care of myself, Aegir. I've been practicing with my bow. Look how good Ive become! See that weather vane up there? I can hit it!" Ran stood up, took an arrow from her quiver, pulled it back, and shot it towards the weathervane. TING! The arrow hit the vane in the center. "See?" Ran said boastfully. Aegir was impressed, but not enough to covince him to bring Ran along. "Very good Ran. But Im not going to an archery competition. You are staying here." Ran was displeased with his response. She knew she couldnt change his mind, so she gave up.

Suddenly a very large meteor crashed to the ground. "Wow, did you see the size of that one!" Ran exclaimed. Aegir mounted his Rehaird, saying "Hopefully it crushed Lloyd." He started it up. "I'll be gone for about a month. Take care of yourself. And dont do anything stupid." "Dont you do anything stupid!" Ran responded. "You better come back alive!" The Rehaird began to ascend, and Aegir started to fly towards the ground. "Goodbye, Ran!" he shouted. Ran had a sad look on her face as Aegir left. She waved her hand, saying "Bye, I'll miss you." Ran picked up her things, and headed back to her home.


	3. Discovery

**RP #11 - Confused God. Posted 10-16-05**

_Rusty and Taren ran ahead, both holding something over their mouths to stifle the constant blast of dust and dirt. Visibility was poor, yet off in the distance they could still make out a faint glow of purple, just like the kind that had surrounded the incoming meteors. Thousands of questions littered Rusty's mind, and half of him wanted to pull his cloak from his mouth and ask Taren what was happening, but the other half knew that Taren knew no more, and removing his cloak would mean a mouthful of debris. _

_The two continued for what seemed like an endless amount of time. Rusty was starting to feel some strain on himself. A gust started to pick up and Rusty turned his back to it, facing the sky, when he saw two tiny figures seem to glide down and land somewhere ahead of them. He looked over, but Taren hadn't seen anything. Tired of keeping his thoughts to himself, Rusty decided to cast a defensive spell. _

"Guardi...cough...Guar...hack...GUARDIAN!"

_A flimsy looking green barrier started to form around Rusty and Taren. Rusty's spellcasting was less than amazing, and his only real abilities were in healing, not defense. However, the barrier did at least deter most of the incoming debris, enough to allow Rusty and Taren to talk. Rusty took the initiative. _

"You missed it! There were a couple of little things flying around over there! I think they landed just ahead of us."

_Taren looked skeptical. With a frown, he pointed behind him into the oncoming winds. _

"Yeah, in case you haven't noticed, there are a LOT of little things flying around. It's called debris, and it's typical when a meteor slams into the ground."

_Rusty shook his head and kept gesturing towards where the figures had landed. _

"No, I mean there were flying figures! It wasn't debris, they were flying in an odd pattern. Just trust me, alright? We have to head over there."

_Taren looked where Rusty pointed now, and saw that it was generally in the direction of the glowing aura. _

"Uhh...Rusty, that's where we were headed anyway. Let's just go, and also...GUARDIAN!"

_A much stronger, well defined looking barrier now formed over Rusty's, and all of the oncoming debris, even the wind itself, was diverted around it. It suddenly felt as though the scenery could be that of a peaceful sunny day. Rusty frowned. _

"Why didn't you do that in the first place?"

_Taren shrugged. _

"Didn't need to. You didn't start talking until now. Anyway, let's keep going. I would say those figures were figments of your imagination, but the last time I said that this meteor crashed, so I'm going to avoid getting my karma involved for awhile."

_Rusty smirked. _

"Right on. Let's get moving, then."

_The trek continued, now much easier with the use of the Guardian spell. Rusty and Taren were moving much more quickly now, and it looked hopeful that they would reach the mysterious figures soon. Sure enough, only a few more minutes passed before they found a perplexing looking vehicle. Rusty sized it up, but had no idea what to make of it. Taren, however, was a little better learned about it. _

"I've seen something like this before. It's called a Rheaird, it uses the mana in the air to power it's thrust. It's basically a personal flying machine. The hero Lloyd and his group used to have some. They're very rare...I wonder if those people could be here? I'm sure many of them must still be alive..."

_Rusty laughed. _

"The hero Lloyd? I've heard of that folktal. You don't seriously believe it, do you? Some guy and his friends were responsible for the new world."

_Taren shrugged. _

"I've always considered it. I mean, there's really no other way to explain the recent history of the old and new worlds. Now that I've seen a Rheaird..."

_Rusty looked thoughtfully for a moment before snapping back to his senses. _

"If you're right, then they can't be too far ahead. Let's keep going, that purple thing looks to be pretty close. Maybe we can find out what's really going on."

_Taren nodded. _

"Yeah, you're right. Let's keep going."

_They continued to press on, and as they did so, another green aura started to come into view. It was another Guardian spell. Someone else was in the distance, waiting. Rusty started into a dash and Taren followed. Soon they were within speaking distance of someone. It looked to be a girl, but it was difficult to tell with the thick atmosphere. Rusty yelled ahead, but his words were gargled by the wind. The figure jumped and turned. _

"You! I knew it!"

_Rusty was taken aback from the exclamation. He started to ask if he knew her, but she suddenly started to yell again. Rusty couldn't hear what she said, but Taren did. _

"Get your sword out, she's using a spell on us!"

_Rusty wouldn't believe it, but sure enough a burst of flame suddenly appeared and flared towards him. He whipped out the Harusame and deflected whatever flame managed to penetrate Taren's Guardian. Rusty then took a step forwards and yelled. _

"What the hell are you doing! Stop attacking us!"

_The girl looked taken aback herself, and stop chanting. Taren gave Rusty a quizzical look. _

"She's not our enemy? Rusty, what are you doing? She just tried to attack us, stop talking and get ready to fight!"

_Rusty shook his head. _

"Why would she want to fight us? She doesn't even know us...it doesn't make sense. Maybe she mistakened us for something else?"

_Taren peered ahead. _

"She doesn't seem to be spellcasting anymore...do you think we should try approaching her? If she tries anything funny, I can drop her from her with a..."

_Rusty elbowed his friend. _

"Taren. Enough with the shoot first questions later routine. Let's just try walking over and..."

_But he was cut off as something dark looking whizzed by in front of him. _

"What the hell was that!"

_Taren jumped and looked around alarmingly. When he saw nothing, he glanced at Rusty. _

"Are you trying to psyche me out?"

_Rusty looked incredulously. _

"Don't tell me you didn't see that thing...that must have been what she mistakened us for. What was that...? Come on, let's try walking over."

_Taren looked perplexed. _

"I have no idea what you're...fine, lead the way. If she kills you, don't expect me to go out of my way to give you a proper burial."

_Rusty nodded. _

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Let's go."

_They continued to walk forward slowly. The girl reacted by taking a defensive stance, but did not continue to attack them. They were almost close enough for their Guardians to overlap when a light shot out from the crater, and several figures flew out of the meteor. Rusty and Taren both jumped, and the girl followed their lead to turn and watch the figures slowly make their way to the ground. Taren looked nervous. _

"Rusty, I don't like this. We can't take all of them..."

_Rusty's glare remained transfixed on the new figures. One of them had wings, and was carrying the other two. Just what was going on here? _

**RP #12 - White Rose. Posted 10-20-05**

After carrying Merlin from the crater, the old man watches with great curiousity as Zelos goes back inside of the dark ominous crater once again. Landing on the bottom a minute later, Zelos stands, staring at the unconcious body of Kratos Aurion--the once heroic angel belonging to the still despised, once exsisting organization called Cruxis. . . .

_'What in hell?'_ Zelos began to think to himself. _'You were suppose to be in Derris-Kharlan. . . .'_ He said to his mind, as a thousand questions began to flood it. He shook it out to clear it for a moment. ". . . . It--it just can't be possible. . . ." He spoke silently to himself, looking at Kratos very skeptically. He looked up out of the crater at the strange sky above, trying to phathom what took place that shot Kratos back down to this world. He turned his attention back to Kratos' seemingly lifeless body. A faint white light can be seen glowing around him. . . . "I've heard of people being able to sense auras around living beings. . . ." Zelos said with a puzzled, still suprised kind of expression as he knelt down at Kratos' head. "But there is no way YOU are still alive." He started to think. _'I don't care who you are, THIS is just not logical, or possible or anything. . . .'_ Zelos placed his hands under Kratos's back and legs, and very gently and slowly turned him around. Kratos' lifeless body flopped around like a wet noodle, and his head tilted back. "You just can't be. . . ." He said as he placed Kratos' body on the ground, and moved his eyes to the freakish sky once again. "What happened up there?" He looked down at Kratos' unconcious state once more. "And what happened to Derris-Kharlan?" He said again, hoping that Kratos would just come right out and explain everything, but knowing that this wasn't the case at all. Zelos' expression changed to a kind of sympathetic one. "Lloyd. . . ." He paused and closed his eyes for a moment. "I mean after everything you've been through so far, it--"

A hint of white light gleamed beneath some rubble, next to Kratos' right hand, interrupting Zelos and diverting his attention. "Huh?" Zelos said as he noticed the faint light. "What do you have hiding under there?" He said with curiousity. He gently put Kratos back down, and placed his hand up near the rubble, feeling some heat coming off of the rocks. "Hmm. . . ." He stated. "Well, I guess I'd better move these some other way." He paused for a breath. "Here goes." Zelos shut his eyes and focused on the rubble. A slight green glow appeared beneath him like last time, and he opened his palm about a second later. "Wind blade." He said silently. Small green wisps of magical wind appeared around the rubble. The rubble levitated, and then was shaved into dust moments later. As the dust began to settle, Zelos waved it away with his hand, curious to see what was lying next to Kratos.

Zelos' eyes widened as he gazed down at a very beautiful, sparking sword which also glowed with the white light. He looked it over and his law literally dropped from his mouth. The hilt of the weapon was crafted of some kind of strange rock and a diamond rested in the middle of it. Along the each side of the hilt were three small jewels of different colors. The entire blade itself was constructed of diamond that was sharpened so finely, it could split a single hair in two with one gentle movement. As Zelos took a closer look, there seemed to be ancient writing engraved onto the hilt. It ran in a downwards direction under the diamond, and was in a language he couldn't recognize. The whole sword was sort of shaped like the Flameberge, but everything about it was clearly different. "Holy sh--" He started to say as he reached his hand out to pick it up.

Suddenly some kind of barrier appeared around the mysterious blade, preventing him from getting it. "What the?" He tried again, but with no luck. "Damn. I guess it wasn't meant to be." He sighed in frustration. "Well, if I can't pick this thing up, chances are nobody else can either." He said as he pulled his hand away and looked at Kratos. "Where did you get a sword like this?" Zelos looked around the crater, making sure nobody was around. He saw Merlin at the top, but figured the old man couldn't see what was going on inside of the dark hole. "I'll do what I can to see that this thing stays safe. . . ." Zelos said as he started to scoop dirt and loose rocks atop the glowing sword. He glances at Kratos in sympathy. ". . . . In case you do happen to live. . . ."

He finishes burying the sword and carefully picks Kratos up once again. "Damn, you're in bad shape." He saids as he slowly rises to his feet. He chuckled a bit. "This is pretty funny that I'm carrying you." His head drops some and he blushes. _'More like completely embarrasing. . . .'_ He thinks to himself, and sighs. "Oh well. I'll take you back to Mizuho. Those city doctors always want too much money."

He finally takes to the air slowly, carefully bringing Kratos' body out from the hole. "You better thank me for this. . . ." Zelos said as they were almost to the top. He sighed and glanced at him. "If you can. . . ."

"Zelos! You're okay!" Terra exclaimed as Zelos head finally appeared. "What happ--" Her statement was cut short as she gasped, staring at the winged man in Zelos' arms. "Wh--who is that! Somebody was down there? And what's with the wings again!" Terra started as a million questions took over her thoughts. She wanted to ask more, but Zelos silenced her. "I'm going to Mizuho. Let's go Terra." Terra ran over to Zelos. "What? What do you mean? Who is that?" She asked him all at once. Zelos landed on the ground, and shut his eyes. "Looks like an unlucky person caught in this blast to me." He saids. . . . hiding the full truth from Terra. . . .

Some familiar individuals interrupt Zelos. "Incredible. . . . it can't be. . . ." Saids the voice of a young, fairly tall half-elven woman with white medium length hair, an average build, wearing a casual teachers outfit. An orange long kind of trenchcoat, white shirt, black pants and white boots. Her eyes light up with great curiosity. "That can't be who I think it is. . . ." States another person standing next to the woman. This time the voice belongs to a teenage half-elven boy of average height and weight, with medium length white hair. He's wearing a light colored matching set of a shirt, a pair of shorts, and a pair of low cut boots--all decorated with spiral white designs. Underneath the shirt and shorts are a long sleeved black shirt, and a slightly longer pair of black shorts. Zelos, and a couple of the others who had managed to gather at the sight, startle a bit, and turn towards the voices as they step out of the shadows.

"Professor Sage, Genis! What are you guys doing here?" Zelos states with suprise. Terra looks at the two siblings a bit shocked. "Wow. It's the Professor!" They walk up to Zelos, ignoring Terra for the moment. "It's been a little while Zelos. And, hello Terra." Raine states with a smile to them both. Genis walks over and cuts Raine off. "That's not important!" He sighs. "Zelos! What are you doing with Kr--" Zelos shakes his head at Genis, hushing him up. He walks away from Terra, and they follow him. "Icksnay. . . ." He whispers irritably as he moves his head to Terra, then back to Genis. Genis and Raine glance at her, each other, then back at Zelos. "What? She doesn't know?" Raine whispers silently to Zelos, trying hard to be quiet enough to avoid Terra's ears. Zelos stares at them with narrowed eyes, but doesn't say anything. He begins to walk further away with Kratos in his hands, and they follow him. "Zelos, wait a minute!" He turns his head to Raine. "I'm going to Mizuho now. I'm just as curious about everything here as you are Professor, but this man's life is more important right now." He looks at Kratos once again. "I don't even know if he's alive or not. . . ." He whispers to her. Raine hangs her head. "I see. . . ." She glances back at Terra and then at Kratos. "Yes. The chances of surviving something like this are pretty much zero." Genis looks at Kratos, then hangs his head. "Yeah. . . ." Zelos' looks at them both. "Exactly." He shuts his eyes, and calls out to Terra. "Terra, come on! You still have a package to deliver, right?" Terra looks at the four of them, back at the crash site, back at the small group that has gathered, and finally down at the ground. "Yeah. . . . I guess so."

Suddenly a hand gripped her shoulder. "Hey Terra." The voice said. Terra startled and turned around to see who was behind her. "Aaron! What are you doing here?" Aaron looked at her. "I came with Raine and Genis, strictly for militant purposes. . . . but when I saw you attacking at something, I got a little worried." He looks around at everything. "What did you attack anyway? And who is that dead guy?" Terra looks at him. "I'm not sure what's going on here. . . . I don't even know if that guy's alive or not! I don't anything!" Aaron steps in front of her, and places his other hand on her other shoulder. "Hey, calm down." He glances at the small group of people. "I think everyone is a little shaken up right now. You'd best let me take you to Mizuho, okay?" He pauses and sighs. "I'll come back here once I know you'll be okay, alright?" She blushes a little. "Yeah, whatever."

Meanwhile, at the Martel Temple.

"Colette!" Lloyd shouted as he burst into the entrance of the temple halls. The pastor inside silenced Lloyd and pointed towards the warp point in the back of the temple. "Thanks!" The pastor nodded slightly and continued to do what he was doing. Lloyd made his way to the warp, and took it to the top floor where Colette was. "Hey Colette!" Colette finished up her prayers and rose to her feet to face Lloyd. "I heard about the weird crash in the distance Lloyd. I was praying that nobody was hurt. . . ." Lloyd smiled at her. "Heh. That's just like you." Colette laughed a bit at him. "I'm sorry. I just thought I could help in anyway I can." Lloyd chuckled a little, and shook his head. "Man, for the hundredth time, quit apologizing over everything!" She smiles at him. "I'm sorry." Lloyd rolls his eyes. "Geez. . . ." He closes his eyes. "I guess that's why I fell in love with you, huh?" She tilts her head some. "Because I apologize alot?" He opens his eyes, looks at her, and nods. "Yeah. And because you're so nice to everyone." He places his hands on her shoulders as he stands in front of her, and his expression changes to a more serious tone. "Terra had to make a delievery to Mizuho today. That big meteor crashed somewhere nearby. . . ." Colette gasped. "No! Is Terra. . . .? Are the others?" Lloyd shook his head. "I don't know. I'm gonna head over that way right now, but I'll need to take your Rheaird." Colette's face became slightly angry. "Hey! I'm going too. Don't stop me Lloyd." He smiles a little at her. "I wouldn't dare."

They head out of the temple and around the back where their extra Rheaird lay in wait. Lloyd and Colette both board the Rheaird, and Colette holds on to Lloyd. "Terra, I hope you and the others are okay. . . ." She saids with some worry. Lloyd enters the combination to start it up. It spews colored flames of mana from the back, and hovers in the air. "We'll head towards Mizuho first." Lloyd saids to Colette. "Okay. Let's go!" Colette shouts, as they fly off towards New Mizuho.

Out at the crash site.

"Raine, I want to go with Zelos and Terra." Genis saids. Raine nods, but not without some hesitation. She sighs. "Alright, go on." Zelos tilts his head, and glances at her. "What about you?" Raine looks around at everything, then back at him. "I think I want to stay here and help the investigation." Genis looks at her. "Investigate huh? More like explore it all." She looks at Genis and smacks him upside his head. "Don't make fun of my passion for archeology!" Zelos smirks and shakes his head some. "Heh. That figures. You'll never change, will you?" Raine eyes him angerily. "Whoa! Hey! I'm just saying. . . ." He looks at Genis. "Damn Genis, your sister's as scary as ever I see." Genis sighs and lets his head drop. "Heh. . . . yeah. . . ." Raine looks back at the site with curious eyes. "Anyway, you guys should get going before anything else weird happens. I'll come by the village later." Zelos nods and usher to Terra once again. She and Aaron walk over to them. Aaron looks at Raine and Genis. "I'm gonna go on ahead with Terra." Raine looks at him suprised. "I thought you had business here." He nods. "I do. I'll be back after that." Raine smiles at them. "Alright. She is your best friend after all." They blush at that remark and turn away from each other. "I'm ready to go Zelos." Terra saids kind of irritably. "Alright." Zelos saids back to her while looking at them. "Go get the Rheaird, and follow me." She nods, and turns to Merlin. "Hey grandpa! I'm going back to Mizuho!" The old man looks at Terra. "Ehh? What's that? You see snow?" Everybody falls over, and gets up afterward lol (anime thing. ) "No grandpa. . . . I'm going to Mizuho!" She shouts. "Oh! Mizuho! Why didn't you say that before!" He states with an irritated tone of voice. She rolls her eyes, sighs, and shakes her head. "Just use your Drill Bird spell and follow us, okay?" Merlin rubs his beard. "Oh. Ehh. . . . alright."

And with that, Zelos takes to the sky with the questionable body of Kratos in his arms. Terra and Aaron head into the forest, board the Rheaird and take off after him. Merlin summons the Drill Bird and mounts it. "What a strange night this has been. . . ." He mutters to himself as he leaves the area and heads off towards Mizuho, leaving Raine and the others at the site behind. All with questions, and nobody with answers. . . .

****

RP #13 - Newtype06. Posted 1-15-06. Re-edited and reposted 1-18-06

Night….

One of Those Nights.

Deadin struggled to maintain control. As he bounded headlong through the forest, he marveled at the mysterious meteor swarm above him. He could smell the mana, detect its glorious scent, but it seemed as though the meteors themselves were exuding it. He panted, lolling tongue hanging out of dagger-like teeth, as he noticed the trajectory of one of the biggest pieces. _It was headed right for him._

Deadin broke into a dead sprint, covering massive amounts of ground, but it was still insignificant when compared to the size of the meteor. Never looking back, Deadin just kept running and was taken by surprise when the explosion threw him through the air. Tumbling head over heels, the Grey Wolf was carried a great distance, before slamming into a rock. The world went black for Deadin Draugdu.

The Wolf came to, and it was still night. Barely after midnight. Deadin had become quite adept at measuring the time according to the moon…The Wolf brought himself shakily back to his paws, and surveyed the desolation that was before him. _My forest…No…It's…gone…_ Anyone nearby would have heard a single, solemn wolf crying out to the moon, and to the stars that had spit this destruction at him. Deadin still smelled mana, and decided to move closer. The moon lit a massive crater, with massive pieces of debris scattered throughout. Deadin crouched low, for his nose had alerted him to a presence.

"I am wounded" came an inhuman voice from the crash site, "I must rest on this feeble planet. But what is this? One of their creatures?" Deadin tried to show no emotion, no fear at being noticed by the invisible creature. "Pay it no mind. I must be off now." And with a gust of wind and a scattering of debris, _something_ leapt from the crash site and took flight. Deadin took another whiff of the air, and smelled something else. The human known as Kratos, a mere human in the eyes of most, was well known to the elves. He was the mastermind behind the fall of Mithos Yggdrasil, and one of the great heroes of the Kharlan War. Over the course of his two-century existence, Deadin had come to know Kratos Aurion, and respected him greatly. The familiar scent, that unique cocktail of human flesh and mana, was unique to that legendary man. But it was impossible. Kratos could not be on the planet. He had left in Derris-Kharlan, or so Deadin had come to learn. Was his nose betraying him, or had Derris-Kharlan returned?

Before Deadin could investigate, his possibly wayward nose detected others. One was a wizard, judging by the influence of magical mana Deadin smelled. One was a man intent on pleasing the ladies. The pheromones registered even to Deadin. And the last one was a girl, who had the ruddy hint of a blacksmith about her. Nevertheless, Deadin had a secret to protect, and hid in the rubble. As carefully and quietly as he could, Deadin forced himself to revert to human form. No need to scare the guests.

Soon the three humans arrived. The girl came on a dilapidated Rheiard, the lady's man came in on magnificent golden-orange wings, and the wizard (who turned out to be a very old man) later came on foot. Deadin maintained his position, hiding amongst the rubble. He was nearly discovered by them on a number of occasions, especially when more somethings came flying out of the rubble. The humans went on, eventually stopping at a particular pile of debris.

However, something happened to Deadin Draugdu that...preoccupied him. While his elven heritage gives him some control over his wolf form, there are some occasions when the Beast takes over, and Deadin must struggle to maintain control. Deadin suddenly noticed coarse grey hair starting to form on his body. There seemed to be some commotion at the pile of rubble, but Deadin paid it no mind. He quickly ran away, seeking refuge in the forest. Little did know, however, was that someone, namely that girl, had seen him.

Fed up with seeing things that everyone else didn't, Terra Irving decided to actually follow up on this discovery. She left Zelos and Merlin to whoever was under that pile of rubble. Zelos seemed pretty scared about it. Terra ran off to the forest, intent on getting a better glimpse at this specter in the shadows.

Deadin Draugdu was wracked in agony. He tore at his head, screaming to himself to stop. There were witnesses yards away, and if they found him, they would kill him. Caught halfway between wolf and man, in what Deadin called his hybrid form, Deadin looked up into the terrified eyes of a 16-year-old girl. _No…_ Deadin thought. _Not now, not with her here…_ The Hybrid stood, and looked the girl in the eyes.

Deadin Draugdu fought his internal struggle against the Beast, fighting nail and tooth for every bit of control he could garner. Slowly, ever so slowly, the Hybrid sank to his knees, and reverted to his elven form. Before the girl knelt a gaunt, grey haired elf, wearing a broadsword and a studded leather tunic. The shapeshifter spoke. "I…am sorry you had to see that. Permit me to introduce myself. I am Deadin Draugdu, exile of Heimdall. I ask…no, I beg of you: please do not tell anyone what you have seen here. If you hold your tongue about my…disease, than I will serve as your friend and bodyguard for as long as you deem necessary. Please…" Deadin, the Ymirian Shadow Wolf, Exile of Heimdall, placed his faith in the girl.

She knelt down, and shook his hand.

"Hi. I'm Terra. Terra Irving."

**RP #14 - Jawni. Posted 10-20-05**

It was a warm day. Aros was walking around the streets of Meltokio as usual. He had taken his cloak off just to catch some rays to his normaly so white body. He was cheerful that day. Birds were singing and flying around clothes lines that hung from buildings, a gentle breeze waved the clothes around, the sun was shining, everything seemed to be fine.

As Aros walked towards the item store near the entrance to Meltokio, he saw a little girl running out from the store holding something inside of her jacket.

"Thief, thief! Someone, catch the thief!"

Aros watched as the girl ran passed him. She quickly turned at the corner and ran up the stairs and disappered from Aros' sight. Aros chickled a bit and continued to walk to the store. The owner came out from the store and almost crashed at Aros.

"Did you see a girl run past here just now?" the owner asked. Aros thought for a second. "No, I didn't see a thing," Aros replied with a streight face. "Blasted. That's the third time this week she has stolen from here." The owner walked back in to the store and sat behind the counter. Aros walked in and browsed the selection. He grabbed a few grabbed a few bags of Gels and took them to the counter. "That'll be 1'200 gald" the owner mumbled. Aros put the money on the counter, grabbed the gels and exited the store.

As Aros got out, he saw a large groud of people gathered around a man who looked like a traveller. Aros walked closer so that he coul hear what he had to say.

"...and it hit 500, no 400 feet from me! After I recowered from the shock, I walked closer to it. Then I saw something incredible. First there was this green aura around a hole in it and then it faded. I hid behind a tree and tried to see in to the hole. Next thing what happened, was that an angel, yes an angel fly from the hole carrying another one. At that point I knew that something was dead wrong so decided it was best for me to split." "Are you sure they were angels?" someone in the crowed asked. "I'm certaint. They had these wonderous shining wings on their back." "Where did it land?" "Somewhere in the northern parts of Gaoracchia forest. I didn't pay much attention were I was at the time." "What were you..."

At that point Aros had heard enough. He walked passed the crowed and exited Meltokio. "Something fell near the forest," he thought, "What could've it been? Probably a meteorite. And angels? Hmm..." Aros walked towards the great bridge. Half way there he stopped and sat on a rock near the road. "Angels?" He sat there thinking of them for quite awhile.

Day turned to night. Aros sat on the rock still thinking of the angels. He had heard stories of angels from his uncle not long until he passed away. In the stories, his uncle and his parents where held captive on a giant meteorite by angles. It was a giant and a gloomy place full of angles that loked like they had no soul. Aros was shaken by the thought of souless angles. He had had nightmares of these angles after he had heard the stories. The cheerfulness Aros had earlier was gone. He felt hollow inside. Aros stod up and walked under a tree near by and sat under it. He put on his cloak and waved his hands in the air and muttered few words. A shining light emerged from his hands and a second later he turned invisible. Aros closed his eyes not knowing that his nightmares would come back to haunt him.

Next morning Aros woke up in a puddle of sweat. His nightmares on angels had come back. He muttered some words and turned visible again. He stod up and tried to find the bag of gels he had, but didn't find it anywhere. He walked to the rock and looked around if he had forgotten it there. Luckily Aros found the bag. A small smile appeared on his face, but it faded once the memories of his nightmares came haunting again. He sat on the rock and tried to focus his thoughts. "I can't let them weaken me anymore. Twice it has happened and both times lives were lost. I can't let them weaken me again, I can't!" Aros stod up and started to walk towards the bridge. He couldn't control his thoughts the whole way to and over the bridge.

Aros arrived at Sybak. He walked towards a small café that had been build near the library just few years ago. Aros search for an empty seat and sat on it once he found one. A spunky blonde weitress came to ask his order. He order the daily special without even asking what it was. Hunger had been torturing him since he got over the bridge. After a little while the waitress came back with a bowl of vegetable soup and a piece of bread. Aros politely thanked the waitress and started eating. Once he had eaten he layed back on the chair and stared at the sky. It looked gloomier than usual, dark clouds were gathering over the sun. Aros let his mind wander around and it didn't take long until his nightmares occupied his thoughts. The same nightmares that have haunted him, since he heard the stories on the angels from his uncle. In the nightmares, Aros is all alone in darkness. He walks forward, but can't tell if he's even getting anywhere. He walks and walks and walks, probably for hours. Then he sees a glimbs of light in the horizon. He starts running towards the light. Then he hears voices from behind. He looks back and sees multiple figures with shining wings flying towards him. Aros starts to run faster an faster, but the figures just keep getting closer. The light gets brighter and brighter as he gets closer to it. 200 feet, the figures are getting closer. 150 feet, Aros' breathing gets heavier and heavier. 100 feet, he can feel the breath of the figures behind him. 50 feet, Aros is almost out of breath. The light gets brighter as Aros runs through it. On the other side he sees a meteorite, a giant glowing meteorite the size of a planet. Aros stops running and just stares at the meterorite. He feels an impact in the back of his head. Everything goes black. Next thing he sees is an angel, or so he thinks, infront of him saying something with a tongue he doesn't understand. Aros tries to tell who he is and explain what he's been doing, but the angel doesn't even react. It only says three words again and again.

"Sir. Sir! Wake up!"

Aros opens his eyes. "Well good day to you too. Didn't sleep much last night?" Aros sees the same weitress infront of him took his order. "Yes. I mean no, I dindn't sleep much." He rubs his eyes and takes a closer look at the weitress. She's a little shorter than Aros, quite slender and wears a light blue dress. Her eyes are green and she has a pretty smile. "Hello? Mister, could you stop staring at me." Aros finaly snaps out from it. "Oh, sorry. I probably just dozed off. I didn't sleep much last night." The weiress laughs. "Yeah, I asked you that and you asnwered it already. Anyway, have you heard of the meteorite yet?" "Meteorite? You mean the one that crashed near Gaoracchia forest?" "Yeah, that's the one. They say angles came out from it and started blasting magic all over the place." Aros chuckled a bit. "Blasting magic? Heh, just yesterday when I heard of it they just flew out from it." "Hmm… it does seem a little weird, the whole thing I mean. I thought the hero Lloyd took care of the angles years ago." "Lloyd, the hero? Yes, I think you're right. They say his a great man. I once stopped by at Iselia, his home town, but he was on a journey so I didn't get to meet him." The weitress' eyes light up. "So you are a traveller?" Aros rubs his neck. "Yes. You could say that. I've been travelling for over six years now." "And now you are here to see the meteorite and the angels?" "…the angels?" Aros gets lost in his thoughts again. The waitress stares at him waiting for an answer, but doesn't get one. She walks away dissappointed.

**RP #15 - cepussinboots. Posted 10-20-05**

While on the drill bird, merlin sees how far the others are ahead, and decides to turn back to the landing site, but sets an illusion of himself, so when the others looked back they would see him flying there on the bird. "that should keep 'em busy, i'm not done yet" he says to himself, and flys back off to the site.

when he arrives there he looks down. "alrite birdy, take me down to the bottom" the drill bird flies down to the bottom, where kratos was found, and merlin dismounts it, and calls it back into his staff. " thanks for that, but i cant keep my energy up", he whispers a spell, and shrouds himself in darkness so he cant be seen, as he hasnt yet been spotted. merlin bends down, and examines the rubble, and soil. "hmm, very strange" he takes out a testtube he has lying around in his pocket, and takes a few samples. "i'll need that young raine to help me analyse this" he says to himself, and then blushes "shes quite the academic!" merlin continues to examine the landing site, but it soon gets dark, and he spots that raine and genis have left, so he reveals himself "dammit, i hate it when its dark." he whispered, and then cahnted a spell "lumis maxzmo,luntar yvoion, tredlark, josui, maknar, obrous!" and withthat, the whole area, of the inside the crater lit up with a powerful light magic. "thats a bit better" merlin says, and looks closer at the rubble. "hmm, it has a weird texture" he thought to himself "it almost seems otherworldy, like from Karsarf" he sniffed, and a tear came to his eye. "what a fate that country had, i'm lucky i escaped, but i cant help but wonder, where my boys boy is..." merlin looked up at the sky, and connected the stars so he could see the face of his old friend Dan Solomon. "daniel..." merlin said. "how i wish you were here today, who would have thought, that your fathers old advisor would have outlived you, and your own son as well" he sniffed again, and wiped away a tear. "but when i saw the face of that young terra, i could see you in her" he smiled "you remind me alot of her, thats why i've taken a liking to her." he paused. the stars in the sky seemed to move, so the face of dan was no longer shown, but instead the face of a bold man, one who looked wise. "solomon, the first. the great king, dans father." merlin bowed at the stars. "my dear friend, the one who i entrusted the power of earth upon" merlin laughed "but you were hopeless" he said "your son killed you, and that, i shall never forgive him for, i wonder if he too still lives..." merlin was actually talking about Solomon 1st, second son, Chris, who never made it as king, but something even more rewarding. "prince of darkness my ass" merlin said. "he never did anything but release a great evil into our world, which triggered the great war between karsaf and garrison. the two knights of opposing forces, that joined force, and drove the two countries to hate eachother." merlins face turned dull, as the stars faded, and turned into another face one which he remembered with grief. "my old rival, the one who should have been drilled from the moment i met him" merlin got out a book. "you gave this to me, and i've treasured it ever since" he turned to the middle of the book, and picked out a certain page. "you gave me this spell, but i still need the materials to make it stronger" he read from a list. "a leaf from a tree of power, (i've got), the soil from an ancient land (i still need), the blessing of an ancient summon, (i still need), and the love of a dear friend, one from another country to my own, someone here, and i'm afraid terra, does not count." he sighed. "my drill birds getting weak Stavrer, i need that phoenix" Stavrer was merlins old rival, and friend. he continued the list: "4 feathers, from an almighty bird (i really need) and lastly, the soul of a good heart" merlin sunk to the floor. "i need the soul of a good heart. i need someone i know who is kind and loving, and extract their soul, how fun" merlin coughed. "but the problem is that they need to be dead, and that would cause more pain" merlin paused, for about 10 minutes, thinking. the stars went back to their normal formations, and merlin looked down. "pneumatic phoenix. are you worth all that i need?" exclamied merlin who now looked miserable. "i'm dying. and my last wish is to see you, and master your power for myself. i've only got another good 20 years left on me." melrin paused as he saw something glowing, beneath the strange soil. "what this?" he moved the soil aside, and saw the great blade that zelos had seen. "holy matramony, what craftmanship!" he said, as he glanced at the Irving. "how beautiful" Merlin leaned down to touch it, and got shocked by the same forcefield that prevented zelos from touching it, but as he was so old, he was knocked unconcious.

The next morning...

Merlin awoke, lying in the damp soil, with the Irving lying next to him. "where am i?" he asked himself as he got up. he looked down and saw the sword. "ah yes, i was talking to the stars again, wasnt i." he smiled, and covered the Irving back up with soil. he stretched himself out "alright, time to go." he lifted his staff upon high and recited the words similar, to when sheena summons.

"I call upon thee, oh driller, of godly feathers, i call upon you from the bird heavens, arise mighty Drill Bird"

as he said this, an almighty bird came thundering down from the clouds "ahah, the more mana i can use, the better you look my friends" he patted it on the beak and sat down on it. " we better be off to mizuho, terra will kill me, quite literally." as he took off in the air, he yelled "HASTE" and with that, merlin and his bird flew off to mizuho, in the context of about 15 minutes.

When Merlin arrived, he went into the hotel, and saw waiting in the room, terra, zelos, sheena, aaron, lloyd, colette, raine and genis. terra approached him sternly. "and where have you been gramps?" she said, hands on her hips, her foot tapping. Merlin wiped his forhead. "i stopped off in a nearby city, urm... i needed rest." he said. Zelos came over to him. "typical old man, you shouldnt travel so much, you'll probably kill yourself." Merlin smacked him round the head with his staff. "darn youngster, think your sooooooo hip..."

aaron looked over, "merlin, you better come and join us" and with that, merlin walked over, and stood in the place where zelos was standing, and asked simply. "fill me in, why is everybody here?"

**RP #16 - AngelicAura616. Posted 10-28-05**

"Be careful, Aaron. Something snuck up behind me in that forest earlier." Terra said quietly, as Aaron approached the door.

"Sure thing. I'll see you back home." he replied.

She smiled, and then Aaron exited.

"Back to business..." he sighed.

He entered the forest where the meteor landed. It was dark and gloomy...not much light entered here. He figured he could get lost very easily, and tried hard to remember where he came from.

"This place is a maze...I swear I've been here before." Aaron told himself.

He wandered, and as he wandered, he would hear strange sounds from places. The military had trained their soldiers to not jump to conclusions, and after seeing Raine's fits, this wasn't about to scare him. He continued his wandering, while deep in thought.

"Where did that meteor come from anyway? That rock didn't look natural... It seemed to have a weird aura around it," Aaron thought, "Ah, here we are. The scene of the...wait, who are they? Were they here before?"

Aaron had noticed two characters, standing around the hole made by the meteor.

"Are they ever going to come get us?" Aaron heard one of them say.

Slowly, he approached the two. They appeared to have been here for awhile.

"You two, what are you still doing here?" Aaron questioned.

"Well, we were here looking at this meteor at the same time as a lot of others, and then they just left us here. Not to mention that crazy person who attacked us as we ran to the meteor." the other one of the couple said.

"Oh, that was-" Aaron gasped.

"What?" the second person said again.

"Erm...nothing," Aaron lied, "What are your names?"

"I'm Rusty." the first one said.

"And I'm Teran." the other stated.

"Ah, well, if you stay here for a couple minutes, I can escort you to a nearby village. From there, you can return home. If you cannot find a way to get home, I'll send a party to come recept you."

"Really?" Teran exclaimed.

"Sure thing. I'm one of the Capital Generals of the Iselia-Triet region. I can easily get that done."

"...Thank you." Rusty said, in a slight shiver.

"Forest is getting to you, eh?"

"Yeah, to him. Not me. This guy's just a big wimp." Taren joked, dignified.

"You remind me of my brother..." Aaron whispered.

"Who's your brother?" Rusty questioned.

"Genis Sage. Raine Sage is my sister." Aaron replied.

"Wait, the legendary Sages? You're awefully lucky." Taren excitedly told.

"Heh..." Aaron breathed, "Well, just stay there. I have to do some stuff."

Aaron took out some tools and began examining the crater. He crawled into it, walked around it, and dug in it.

"Wait, what's this?" Aaron said, noticing a bright light under the rocks.

He tried to move the rocks but couldn't.

"Stubborn earth..." Aaron sighed.

Aaron quickly casted a Gust spell, and the rocks were blown away, and a intricate sword could be seen.

"Whoa, that's a magnificent sword. Hmmm," Aaron thought, looking around, "Maybe I could take it. I could easily win in battle if I had THAT."

He tried to pick it up, but couldn't. There was something blocking contact with the sword.

"I'll just Levitate it. Since I can't use it, nobody else can. I'll take it back to the military headquarters."

Aaron casted a Levitate spell on it, and it floated above his hand, and he moved his hand to a sack, where the sword slid in. The shield was deflecting the bag, so the bag was slightly puffed up. He continued doing measurements, recordings, predictions, hypotheses, samples, and assumptions on the accident. Finally, when he was done, he went over to Taren and Rusty.

"Alright, I'm done." Aaron said.

"Hey, that pack wasn't that big when you got here before." Taren noticed.

"Oh, I just collected rock samples. The military could use them. The rock that was here was unlike anything I've seen before. It was almost..holy."

"Ah, I see." Taren stated.

"We should be going." Rusty reminded.

"Good point." Aaron replied.

They walked through the forest, talking about the state of the world, what Aaron's job was, what Taren and Rusty wanted to find out, and other subjects. Then something rustled the nearby bushes. Aaron ignored it, but Taren jumped.

"I thought the forest wasn't getting to you." Rusty poked.

"Oh...heh...well...it isn't. I just wasn't expecting it." Taren quickly said.

"Would you like me to go see what it is for you?" Aaron asked.

"Um, sure." Taren answered.

Aaron walked over to the bush, and pulled it apart. An ugly creature was lying on the ground. It looked like it was injured badly.

"Alright, I'll just take care of this. BOLT!" Aaron shouted.

A short lightning bolt shot out from Aaron's hand, and struck the creature, leaving a hole through where it passed.

"That should have taken care of that...Wait...HOLY SH! GAH!" Aaron shouted, and flew backwards.

The creature had not died, and struck Aaron across the head. There was a large cut where he was struck.

"Aaron! Oh no!" Taren shrieked.

"Let's take it out." Rusty demanded.

"Sure thing." Taren said.

They drew their weapons, and virtually slaughtered the creature. It lay on the ground, but let out a high pitched shriek.

"Is it calling for help?" Rusty asked.

"I don't know. Let's not stick around to figure it out. Aaron, wake up! Where is the nearest city?" Taren screamed.

No answer from Aaron's body.

"WAKE UP!" Taren yelled, slapping Aaron.

Aaron opened his eyes.

"Ow..."

"Oh, yes! He's alive! Which direction to the nearest city?" Taren asked again.

"East..." Aaron replied, then closed his eyes again.

Blood and pus was oozing from the gash in Aaron's head. Taren and Rusty hoisted Aaron on their shoulders, and ran in the east-wards direction.

Aaron was still conscious, and knew what was going on, but couldn't actually see it. It was much like a blur.

Suddenly, black shadows were flying above them in the sky. They looked like they were circling over the forests, like hawks circling their prey. All that Rusty and Taren knew was that they had to run, and fast. The creatures began to swoop down. They'd found their prey. Leaves and bushes were rustled, and loud thuds could be heard as the creatures landed around Taren and Rusty.

"Keep running!" Rusty shouted.

"Like I'm planning on stopping!" Taren shouted back.

Their legs were wearing out on them, but they didn't stop. They had to escape the forest. Creatures began flying out in front of them, and Rusty simply let go of Aaron and ran at them, sword unsheathed, and slashed them, shoving them out of the way. He ran back, picked Aaron up, and continue running towards the city. More and more creatures began to chase them.

"We'll never make it!" Taren screamed.

"Don't say that! I can see some light from here!" Rusty told.

"Where?"

"There!"

"I still can't-"

"JUST RUN!"

Suddenly, Aaron felt pressure on his ankle, and long nails dig into his skin. He screamed out in pain. Taren and Rusty stopped running. Then, Aaron saw them pull out their weapons, with horror upon their faces, and Aaron blacked out.

He awoke in a bed in an inn. The sun was brightly shining, so a day must've at least passed. Rusty was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, and Teran was standing next to him, against the wall.

"Where am I?" Aaron questioned.

"Where you told us to take you. This is Ozette. That's where you wanted us to go, right?" Taren asked.

"Oh, yes. But how'd you find it?"

"A girl named Presea helped us." Rusty answered.

"Presea! Genis always talks about her!"

"Hah. Interesting." Rusty chuckled.

"Anyway, what happened last night?"

"Last night? You've been unconscious for 3 days! You had a deep gash in your head. It's lucky Presea knows a good doctor." Taren explained.

"Yeah... Tell me what happened though! All I remember was seeing looks of absolute terror on your faces."

"A huge creature had grabbed you. It was hidious, and it was going to kill you. We tried to fight it off, but it advanced on us, and the other creatures surrounded us. That's when Presea came in. She took out all of the other creatures, and then we ganged up on the big one. I know those things aren't gone for good though. They can't be dead that easily if they're that strong. This could be a very big problem, and with some of the problems between the kingdoms, it might be even bigger than we can predict." Rusty recited.

"And...where is...Presea?" Aaron asked.

Rusty tapped three times on the wall with his hand. A couple of seconds later, a girl entered the room.

"Did you need me, Rusty?" the girl asked.

"Presea, he called for you." Rusty replied.

"He...? Oh! He's awake." Presea, the girl, cheered.

"I just wanted to...thank you for saving my life. I'll be sure to reward you. You just saved a Capital General. That's a big thing." Aaron told.

"Oh...you don't need to. I just wanted to help." Presea said.

"No, I must. It's our code."

"Well, if you must. But, please...I request...I do not want money or anything of value. I want...I want...to see Genis." Presea pleaded.

"Genis Sage? That's my brother! I can do that for you, easy peazy." Aaron exclaimed.

"Really? Thank you so very much! But, you must wait. You're still healing. You'll be ready to go in a week. Until then, I'll send a messenger from Mizuho to Iselia-Triet region that you were attacked, and you are currently under medical attention." Presea noted.

"I thank you very much." Aaron responded.

Presea exited.

"Did you tell her where I was from?" Aaron asked Rusty.

"I did not. Taren?"

"Me either."

"Well, maybe she just figured, because Genis is my brother..."

"Perhaps. Anyhow, get your rest. We'll keep eyes over you."

"I thank you for saving my life too. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here, and you might not either."

"Heh. No problem. Oh, for some odd reason, that reminds me that I picked up your bag. This bright sword slid out a little. I put it back, but...that sword looked magnificent! Where did you get it?" Rusty asked.

"When you're a Capital General, like me, you get the latest technology upgrades." Aaron lied, again.

"Oh, I see. Do you think they'll make those mainstream?" Rusty questioned.

"Not for awhile. Why? Do you want one?"

"Absolutely! That blade is perfect!"

"When I get another one, I'll give it to you."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Thank you. Now please, sleep."

"Of course..."

Aaron fell back to sleep.

**RP #17 - Confused God. Posted 10-30-05**

_Rusty strolled to the opposite side of the room and thought for a moment. He could be escorted back home, or anywhere else he wanted, but he didn't want to return home just yet, and he couldn't think of anywhere else he wanted to be. After seeing the meteor collision, there was nothing else he concentrate on. It was spectacular, and then there were those people. Rusty was sure he saw one of them fly. Who were they...if only he'd managed to get their attention again before they left. Then again, maybe he would only have been attacked again. _

_Rusty looked over his shoulder and saw that Taren seemed just as lost in thought. He strolled over silently._

"Pretty eventful weekend so far, huh?"

_Taren nodded without glancing over or changing his expression at all. It seemed he still hadn't snapped out of thought._

"Yeah...that Presea girl is kind of cute..."

_Rusty smirked and tried to stifle a laugh. The resulting sound alerted Taren who jumped and looked over at Rusty, wondering what he had just told him. Rusty gave Taren a somewhat impressed look._

"You do have a good eye for your age. Always go for the younger girls. Too bad you gave that Genis kid as competition."

_Taren gave Rusty as piercing glare._

"I was not thinking--I mean--ahh! No, just stop it. I do NOT like her, and Genis is probably a decent guy."

_Rusty nodded, then thought of something._

"But, Genis is the younger Sage, right? By now, he must be waaay older than that Presea girl. I think he might not be competition at all, maybe he's just a mentor or something. She's definitely more in your age group."

_A laugh came from the bed. Aaron was still awake._

"Her looks can be decieving of her age. Even Genis is a little young for her."

_Taren apologized for keeping Aaron awake with his and Rusty's discussion. Rusty, however, gave him a quizical glance._

"What do you mean 'Genis is a little young for her?' There's no way she's any older than Taren...right?"

_Aaron chuckled again._

"Don't worry about it, you'll find out someday. Also, I'm not so sure I can sleep anymore."

_Aaron started to get up. Taren immediately protested that he go back to sleep, but Aaron shook his head._

"I've slept for the past day, I don't really feel tired anymore."

_Taren backed off, but still wasn't satisfied._

"But you still haven't fully recovered, getting up now is dangerous. At least let Rusty cast another healing spell before you do."

_Aaron looked confused._

"Rusty can cast healing spells? I didn't know you were a magic user, Rusty."

_Rusty smirked and nodded._

"Unfortunately, yes. Healing is the only thing I'm good at with magic. I'm completely incapable of anything else. Taren, on the other hand, has loads of awesome offensive magic but no skill when is comes to healing."

_Aaron laughed._

"Sounds like you make good travelling companions, then. One who damages, and one who repairs."

_Rusty frowned._

"I do have a sword...healing isn't all I can do..."

_Genis smirked._

"Also, we're not good travelling companions. He needs my common sense to survive a trek across the street. Our opinions almost never relate."

_Aaron nodded._

"Really. You two sound a lot like Genis and Lloyd the way Raine tells about them when they were younger. Apparently, they could never agree either. But, anyway, thanks for the offer but I think I can get along without a healing spell. I have my own arsenal of magic if I need it. Also, have you two decided where you would like to be escorted to?"

_Rusty shrugged._

"I really don't have any immediate itinerary. Wherever Taren wants to go is fine with me."

_Taren shook his head._

"I was just going to have Rusty decide. I suppose we don't really want to go anywhere then."

_Aaron nodded._

"Well then, if you decide to stick with me, I'll be bringing Presea to see Genis and Raine. I imagine some of the others who were at the scene of the meteor collision may be with them as well."

_Taren's eyes lit up. Rusty smirked and nodded._

"Alright, that sounds good. If you don't mind dragging us along, I wouldn't mind getting a chance to run into that girl who attacked us. I believe she owes me and Taren an explanation."

_Taren sighed._

"Rusty, she probably just thought we were one of those monsters. You really don't need to go trying to track her down..."

_Rusty shook his head._

"I don't have to, but I'm going to anyway. If you don't want to know who she is, then I do."

_Aaron looked worried._

"I would discourage getting on that girls nerves if at all possible..."

_Taren shook his head._

"Don't bother, he has his mind set on what he wants to do now. He's not going to be swayed by anyone other than that girl herself. Which reminds me, how do you know her?"

_Aaron smirked and started to walk towards the door._

"Don't worry about that right now. Let's just get Presea and head out. Make sure you're ready to leave in five minutes, alright?"

_Rusty and Taren both nodded before Aaron left. Five minutes later, Rusty, Taren, Aaron (heh, Taren & Aaron ) and Presea were all on the outskirts of Ozette, on their way to meet with the others. _

_Thus began the second Tale of Symphonia. _

**RP #18 - Captain Sagara. Posted 10-30-05**

Kalas awoke at the noise of a battle in the distance.

Thoughts of Sheena had tormented his resting mind, he knew he had to see her soon.

He had fallen asleep on the tree from which he saw the outline of sheena.

After a while, he heard a giant crash and the silence; he concluded the battle was over.

He stretched and jumped down to a lower limb on the tree.

And slowly made his way up to his shelter on the tallest tree over looking mizuho.

When Kalas, got there however, he came to an awful surprise.

Mizuho was abondend.

His heart raced, and he thought about what might have happened.

He knew that Meltokio would have crushed Mizuho given the chance, and hoped to God that something else had happened.

He raced back to where he last saw Sheena dissapearing into the horizon.

He was scared to the leave his forest, but knew he had no other choice.

He ran across the field, the sun, he thought, felt so nice against his pale skin. A feeling which he had not felt for so long. Kalas ran and ran, and evetually stopped. He had no idea where he was going. He looked all around him, and saw a field of flowers, feeling at home in this patch of greenery, he laid down for a minuter, and cursed himself for not taking the opportunity of talking with Sheena that seemed so impossible to come by again.

He looked around at the buds, andnoticed a small movement of a small bud.

It bloomed into a beautiful crimson flower, as did another next to it, and another, and another.

Kalas was startled, and jumped out of the small patch of flowers.

Looking at the patch from his angle, he could see it formed a line, and instantly knew that the forest was watching over him again.

He started running again, running on his second wind, so very thankful to the forest.

Kalas wanted to repay the forest, but still could not think of a way. While he ran, the minutes passed, and evetually he came upon a withering tree.

Kalas ran by it, but stopped and turned back, he knew he wanted to see his sister, but didnt want to ruin his bond with the forest.

He reached in his aged sack and poured some of the forest water on it.

It showed no signs of life.

Kalas tried again, and focused on the plant, and tried to expell the thought of Sheena running through his head.

The tree twitched, and Kalas knew that it was going to grow, but if he waited, he might miss his chance to see Sheena again.

He slowly turned to start on his way again, when he noticed a small amount of syrup running from the leaves of the plant.

He figured it was another gift, andothe gift that he was totally undeserving of, but took it nonetheless.

He put the gel in a galss jar and continued on his way.

A town became visable on the horizon.

Kalas heart jumped, he sped up but the slowed himself down, and his mind filled with negativity.

What if the times have changed? Will someone try to hurt me?

Kalas figured it was best to keep a low profile.

He ran into the town, and some people looked up at the commotion, Kalas felt like an idiot and casually slowed down.

Not only had kalas been away from civilization for so long, but he has also never been out of Mizuho, he was nervous.

He looked over at a boy a little younger than he away form the other people, staring out over the town limits.

He was glas becuase even if he did make a fool of himself, there was only one person to hear him. He didn't recognize the young man, nor should he have, but he knew he was a half-elf. Kalas began to slow down once he realized this, and made a small grimace, which he hoped the young man didn't see as he turned around slowly.

The young man cocked an eyebrow, interested in this eager youth striding toward his direction.

You, Kalas said, Half-elf.

The young half elf twitched at this comment, not being used to hear this title for such a long time.

Ha---- Kalas was cut off, not by another voice, but by the half elf walking off in a bit off a bad mood.

Kalas pondered in his head waht had gone wrong, and could draw no conclusions.

He continued on his way, searching for someone who could help him.

**RP #19 - White Rose. Posted 11-6-05**

As Lloyd sat indian styled on the floor of a small Mizuhoen clinic, his tear filled and glassy eyes never left the seemingless lifeless body of Kratos. . . . his real father. The severely wounded and helpless winged angelic human was lying under the covers of a bed inside of the hut, and the entire room had been darkened from the light of the sun. Lloyd reached a shaking, sweaty hand out towards Kratos, touching a mildly cold cheek. He moved it to Kratos' hair, and then pulled it back slowly. "Dad. . . ." He whispered sadly to himself as he let his head drop. The tears that had filled his eyes were now starting to fall rapidly. "I can't believe this. . . ." He said as he wiped the endless stream away with his sleeve. "You're here. . . . on this world. . . . lying right next to me. . . ." He sniffles a bit and sighs. "And yet, you're--" He runs his hand across his face, wiping it once more. "Damn it all. . . ." He brings his knees up to his chest, buries his head between them, and cries silently to himself--heavy emotion taking over his body. All the while, thoughts and questions continued to pour into his head as they had done so, since the very day Zelos brought Kratos back to New Mizuho. . . . when Lloyd saw his father for the first time since he left for Derris-Kharlan long ago.

Lloyd remembered the pained look in Kratos' eyes, underneath the brave facade he was trying to put up. He was looking his son over for the last time. . . . with great respect, love, pride, and regret. . . . How much Lloyd truly missed Kratos hit hard about a month later, when Lloyd finally realized why Kratos had looked at him like he did. It was the last time they ever saw one another. . . . until now. . . .

Lloyd snapped out of his thoughts, and looked up at Kratos with blurred teary eyes. "Please be alive. . . . please. . . ." He said sadly, as he tucked his head back into his knees, and continued to weep. Just then, the sliding bamboo door opened, allowing a small beam of light to creep inside the dark building. A tiny gathering of people peeked inside, unbeknownst to Lloyd.

"So, he's just been like that for three days now?" Raine states with concern to the others, under the bright sun of a beautiful autumn day. "Yes. . . . He won't budge or anything. . . ." States Colette, who is looking at the hut, with some tears running down her face. "Colette and I have tried everything we could think of, but he refuses to leave Kratos' side. . . ." Sheena comments as shakes her head, also concerned for Lloyd. "I feel so bad for him. . . ." She saids with some tears building. Zelos looks at them, then hangs his head some. "It's understandable. . . ." He states with a sad, sympathetic tone in his voice. Genis looks at him and tilts his head some. "You say that like it's from personal experience or something." Zelos straightens back up and glances at him. "Well, I just mean that it's understandable why Lloyd would be like this, that's all." He tries to say with conviction. He glances at the clinic a moment later. "It's only been 20 years since Kratos was last here, you know?" Raine nods some. "Yes. Indeed it has. . . ." Her expression changes as she looks at the small building. "Poor Lloyd. . . ." She turns to the others. "I want to say that Kratos will pull through this. . . . but really. . . . what are the chances?" Genis turns to the clinic. "Lloyd. . . ." He hangs his head and shuts his eyes.

Zelos' eyes narrow some, as he begins thinking back to the incident. "What I don't get, is the fact that his body wasn't destroyed. I saw that impact site. . . . nothing around it survived. Kratos should've been torn to bits, along with everything else that was. . . ." Genis opens his eyes back up, and looks at him. "Yeah, Raine and I saw it too. . . . that's pretty weird. That tear in the earth was huge. . . . And that large meteor you found him at was like the size of a small town. . . ." Zelos looks at everyone. "I know. That's what I can't understand." Sheena looks at Zelos, with a curious expression. "And didn't Terra insist that she saw something fly off from that place?" Raine also turns to Zelos. "Did you see anything?" Zelos looks at them both, somewhat puzzled. "She saids she did, but I'm not sure. I caught a glimpse of something as we were on our way over to the site, but I don't know what it was." They all look at each other, a bit clueless. "What in hell is going on here?" Sheena comments as she looks off in the direction of the impact site with both curiosity, and worry.

Zelos looks around the village, and spots Terra eating inside of a nearby restaurant, with a confused look on her face. He sighs as he looks at her. "You guys haven't told Terra a thing about our little adventure back then, have you Colette?" He saids as he and the others turn their attention to Colette. Her expression changes to great sadness, and she closes her eyes, letting her head drop. She shakes her head. "No. . . . we haven't. . . ." Zelos crosses his arms, sighs, and shuts his eyes. "I thought so." He opens them back up and looks back at her. "Why have you guys hid this from her for this long?" Sheena comments to Colette, who remains quiet as if searching for what to say. "I mean, I can understand a few years and all, maybe even like five years tops, but 20 years. . . ." She comments again. Raine's eyes widen a bit, and she gasps a little with realization. "That explains it. . . ." She saids as she turns to Colette and the others, who have somewhat perplexed looks on their faces.

Sheena glances at Raine for a second. "Explains what?" Raine turns to the restaurant where Terra is at. "Look at her. Whenever I've seen her alone like that, she's always had that look on her face. Her behavior changes, and she's always sad for some reason." Colette looks at the restaurant, sighs, and hangs her head once again. "Terra. . . . I'm sorry. . . ." Raine places a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps you and Lloyd just didn't want to scare her, that's all." Colette wipes her face and glances at Raine. "I mean, you were a Chosen and Lloyd is the son of a Cruxis Angel. A man which just so happens to look like a younger brother, not a man that could be his father. . . ." She pauses for a breath. "I can almost understand why you hid this from her. It's a lot to take in for a young teenager. And very hard to believe." Zelos looks at Colette. "Yeah. . . . Terra freaked out when I revealed my wings. . . ." Sheena stares at him suprised. "Why did you do that!" Zelos glances at her. "I had to. It was to protect us." Genis looks him over, and tilts his head. "Oh yeah, I forgot you had wings too." Zelos nods, then looks at the restaurant again. "I shocked her pretty badly. I didn't expect that reaction at all." He turns his head to the hut where Lloyd is at. "That's when I pretty much knew that Terra was in the dark about everything." He turns to Colette and the others. "I had my suspicions about it before, but that right there just confirmed it." He looks back at Colette with some sadness in his eyes.

"Look, I know she's not my kid, and I probably should just butt out and all, but--" He looks at Sheena with some sadness. "Sheena and I. . . ." Sheena glances at him with some anger and sadness, interrupting him. "Zelos. Don't." He takes her hand in his. "It's okay, it's not your fault. . . ." She tightens her grip on his, and smiles. "I know. I forget that sometimes." He turns to the others. "You all know we've never been able to have our own kids. Despite how hard we've tried--" He shut his eyes. "It's just never happened." He opens his eyes, and Sheena leans on him. "So when you guys had Terra. . . . she became like a daughter to us." Sheena nods with a smile. "We love her like we'd love our own." She saids. "That's why we think it's time she knew about everything that happened." Zelos nods slightly, and sighs heavily looking at the restaurant with sad eyes. "There's a major chance that Kratos is probably already dead. She has to know who he is to her, before we all know for sure it's too late for him. . . . and she ends up finding out the hard way."

Colette looks at everyone. "Thanks. . . ." She turns to the clinic and goes to the door. "I'll talk to Lloyd." She smiles a bit, wiping a few more tears from her eyes. "Terra has a right to know who her family is. We never should've denied it to her in the first place. . . ." Sheena walks over to her and places a hand on her shoulder. "You want someone to come with you when you're ready to tell her?" Colette hangs her head once more, and remains silent. "We'll be there. Just know that, okay?" She nods.

And with the reassurance of her friends, a sad and scared Colette heads inside. . . . Trying like always to maintain a positive demeanor, despite the situation.

**RP #20 - AngelicAura616. Posted 11-9-05**

"Presea…we're going to leave now. We'll take you to Genis." Aaron quietly whispered.

"No. You must rest." Presea responded.

"Rest? That's not gonna happen. I've got all the rest I need. The others are probably worried why I haven't returned anyway."

"But..."

"No but's, we're leaving now. If you want to see Genis, come with us now."

"Genis…" Presea sighed, "Take me with you then."

"What do you think I've been asking you to do?"

Aaron and Presea exited the inn, and met up with Taren and Rusty just on the outskirts of town. Taren looked at the forest ahead of them, and shivered.

"Do we have to walk through there again?" Taren asked.

"Unless you can fly, yes." Aaron replied.

"We should probably keep our weapons out." Rusty suggested.

"Indeed." Aaron agreed.

They stepped into the forest and felt the coldness of the forest looming around them. They shivered again, and continued onward. Trying to keep the others' minds off the forest, Aaron began to strike up some chatter.

"So, Presea, you rebuilt that city?" Aaron questioned.

"I…felt that if I rebuilt it, I might feel at home for the first time," she answered.

"Ah, that's right. Legends say that heavenly thunder rained down upon the old location of Ozette." Taren said.

"That was Cruxis. They destroyed Ozette, hoping to kill Altessa, a dwarf who refused to help them." Presea corrected.

"Oh," Taren gasped, "That's terrible!"

"So true," Aaron told.

"So, how did you know the new location of Ozette if it was destroyed so long ago?" Rusty asked.

"I'm in the military. We send out caravans to map-make for us, so we know if there's new kingdoms or empires brewing in unknown lands."

"Is it fun to be in the military? I mean, with your high rank, you can do almost anything you want, right?" Rusty questioned.

"It can be fun. They recently tested me for competency to make sure I still fit my position. They gave me the correct surroundings for some of my most powerful spells."

"What type of spells are you best at?" Taren asked.

"I make my own spells. A little perk to being raised by the Sages. My spells are based on Air, Water, and Lightning. I can combine them to make powerful spells called Storm spells. But, that isn't to say I can't use every other type of spell. Genis even taught me a spell called Meteor Storm!"

"That's cool! You're so lucky… Can you teach me some spells?"

"Alright, but we should wait until it rains, that way the Storm spells are most effective."

"Okay, but don't forget!"

"Hey, Rusty, when we get out of this forest, do you mind showing me some of your fighting skills?" Aaron asked.

"Only if Taren can assist me." Rusty replied.

The walk continued for quite awhile. They talked about a variety of subjects. It wasn't surprising that they weren't attacked in the forest. They were making quite a racket.

"What was that?" Aaron nervously questioned.

"What are you talking about, Aaron?" Taren quizzically asked.

"Something moved in the trees."

"I think you're imagining it, you crazy person." Rusty said.

Aaron simply grunted. He knew he didn't imagine it. He touched the ground and mumbled "Moisturize". The dirt on the ground turned to a soft mud. Anything in it left an imprint in the mud.

"We'll soon know."

"That was kinda cool!" Taren cheered.

They walked a little more cautiously, constantly checking the ground for footprints. All they saw for awhile were animal tracks, though.

"This is getting boring…" Taren sighed.

"Just keep looking." Aaron pleaded.

The search continued, with no luck in finding anything.

"I give up." Aaron breathed.

"It's about time," Rusty told, "It was just your imagination."

"Yeah…sure. Presea?" Aaron asked, "You haven't talked very much. Is everything okay?"

"I'm just nervous to finally see Genis again…" she answered.

"Oh," Aaron breathed, "Hey, look, I can see the end of the forest!"

"Me too!" Taren cheered.

They ran to the edge of the forest, and squinted as the sunlight struck their faces.

"The sunlight has never felt so warm." Presea smiled.

"Alright, we've still got a way to go before we get to Mizuho. Let's find some animals to battle!" Aaron shouted.

"Oh, that's right. Demonstrating our skills," Rusty said.

"I'll go first. There's a wolf." Aaron stated.

Aaron ran up within eyesight of the wolf. He pulled out his sword, and pointed it near the wolf.

"Bolt!" Aaron yelled.

The wolf became alert, saw Aaron, and charged. Aaron prepared to block the strike, and counter-attacked. The blade penetrated the wolf, and the wolf became even more enraged. Aaron prepared to cast another spell, but was bit in the leg by the wolf. Aaron quickly decided to attack swiftly, and continuously swung his swords at the wolf. Eventually, the wolf tired, and became fatigued. Aaron took his shot, and stabbed the wolf. It fell to the ground, and died.

"Haha! I win, with only minor damage." Aaron chuckled.

"Our turn!" Taren told.

"Taren, are you ready?" Rusty questioned, in a very serious tone.

"So ready." Taren replied, also in the same tone.

They aimed at a bear near the forest. Rusty quickly ran after the bear, and Taren began casting a spell. Rusty struck it three times, and retreated to Taren. The bear charged at Taren, but Rusty counter-attacked, to defend Taren.

"Thunder Arrow!" Taren shouted.

3 orbs of electricity surrounded the bear, then connected, and lightning rained down from the sky upon the bear. It staggered, and Rusty took his shot, with about 7 strikes to fatal areas of the bear's body. It quickly died.

"Nice! I think Genis knows that spell, Taren!" Aaron told.

"Really? Cool!" Taren squealed.

"May…I have a turn?" Presea asked.

"Sure! Do you want a partner?" Aaron questioned.

"No, I'll be fine." Presea insisted.

"Alright then. Good luck!"

Presea walked around the forest, and finally found a fox. She approached it carefully, and threw a stick at it. It noticed her, but didn't do anything.

"Beast!" Presea shouted.

A loud roar and a large blast could be felt even from where Rusty, Taren, and Aaron were standing. The fox became alert that Presea wanted to slay him, so he charged her. She pulled her axe up.

"Eternal Damnation!" she shouted.

The fox's head fell off. Rusty, Taren, and Aaron's jaws all dropped to the ground, quickly followed by their bodies.

"Did I do something wrong?" Presea asked, looking at them.

"That was amazing! It only took one hit!" Aaron shouted.

"How can you do that..?" Rusty questioned.

"I've been using an axe for a long time, I guess." Presea answered.

"We should be moving on to Mizuho. Let's keep going." Rusty told.

"Hey, Rusty, I never noticed how short you looked until you fought with that bear..." Aaron said.

Rusty got this mean look on his face.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TINY SPECK OF BACTERIA ON THE SURFACE OF YOUR FOOT?" Rusty shouted.

"I never said that!" Aaron quickly explained.

"He just doesn't like being called short." Taren jeered.

"STOP CALLING ME SHORT!" Rusty screamed.

"Fine, whatever." Aaron sighed.

They walked, and soon they were in visibility of the village. A small groud of 3 people were approaching them, and they had weapons drawn.

"Uhh…who are they?" Taren questioned.

"A welcome committee?" Aaron replied.

"I don't think they're that! I think they're going to attack us." Rusty explained.

They all quickly prepared for battle. Presea pulled her axe out, Rusty and Aaron pulled their swords out, and Taren realized he doesn't have a fancy weapon like theirs' at that moment.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Taren squeaked.

"Just get ready. Aaron, you stay back and protect Taren. Presea and I will stay in the front. Ready? They're almost here." Rusty said.

The people approached quickly. The people approaching were dressed in all black, and their clothes covered everything but their eyes.

"Ninjas…" Rusty told.

"Invaders! Prepare to die!" the ninjas said.

"Invaders…? We're not-" Aaron tried to explain.

"Yeah right!" one of them said, throwing a dagger.

The ninjas began to strike. Aaron and Taren began casting spells, while Presea and Rusty charged. Suddenly a burst of attacks were shouted at once.

"Hunting Beast!" Presea screamed.

"Thunder Blade!" Aaron and Taren casted at the same time.

"Rain of Blades!" all three ninjas said at the same time.

"Demonic Circle!" Rusty yelled.

The effects of this amount of attacks at once were drastic. Mass chaos broke out. There were about 40 daggers, and 2 large blades charged with electricity, as well as a spirit animal launched. The three ninjas were blown back about 10 feet in the air, Taren and Aaron both took injuries, and Rusty was lost after his attack. Presea just kept hitting the ninjas. Rusty followed her lead. Soon enough 1 of the ninjas was unconscious.

"Urg. Here Taren. Rub this on your wounds." Aaron told, handing Taren a gel.

Aaron and Taren jumped back up, and prepared to cast more spells. Presea and Rusty were being swarmed with attacks from the 2 remaining ninjas. Presea then fell over.

"." Aaron thought.

"Flame Lance!" Taren shouted.

"Prism Sword!" Aaron casted.

A bizarre mix of spells suddenly occurred. Instead of the desired spells, they blended into one. The effect was devastating, resulting in one of the ninjas actually dieing. Only one was left. They all prepared for an attack.

"Earth Bite!" Aaron casted.

"Ground Dasher!" Taren yelled.

"Eternal Devestation!" Presea attacked with.

"Rising Falcon!" Rusty screamed.

The final ninja became unconscious.

"Nice job! And what the heck happened with Taren and my spell?" Aaron asked.

"I believe that it was a mana mix. It's been happening lately with all this mana in the new world." Presea explained.

"So if we cast spells at the same exact time, they will combine into a more powerful one? That's so cool!" Taren exclaimed.

"Yeah. Well, let's take these unconscious ninjas to Mizuho with us." Aaron suggested.

They picked the bodies up, and walked into the village, heading straight to Sheena.

"Hey, Sheena…your guards attacked us, saying we were invaders. 1 is dead, and 2 are unconscious. I'm sorry, but we had to get in." Aaron explained.

"I'm sorry…I didn't expect you to come back. I had them in the forest to protect our new village." Sheena told.

"Oh, well, I made a promise that I need to fulfill." Aaron said.

"Alright, well, thank you for returning the bodies." Sheena said.

"Not a problem. I'll be heading to the inn now." Aaron stated.

Aaron exited the house, and went to a different one.

"Hey, Aaron!" Genis shouted.

"Hey, just the person I was looking for. I have a present for ya." Aaron told.

"Really? Cool!" Genis exclaimed.

"Haha…so much like Taren." Aaron told.

Aaron took Genis over to Presea.

"Here you go, Presea. Genis is right here."

"Genis…thank you, Aaron."

"Not a problem." Aaron stated, then left.

"Presea…I've…been wanting to see you." Genis said.

"That's why I had Aaron take me here. I wanted to see you too."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"Would….you marry me?" Genis asked, pulling out a sparkling diamond.

"Marry…?"

"Yes. Be my wife. I love you, and I hope you feel the same way about me. I couldn't work up the courage to ask you during our journey. I promise to be more courageous."

"Genis, I'd love to marry you. I love you too…that's why I wanted to see you again."

"Really?"

"Yes."

There was a brief moment of silence.

"We should go tell the others." Genis suggested.

"Yes, they can help us prepare."

"Yeah."

Genis and Presea left the room, and met with the others. Genis went straight to Raine, and Presea went with him.

"Hey, Raine, guess what!" Genis squeaked.

"What is it, Genis?" Raine calmly replied.

"Presea and I are getting married!"

Raine pulled a full body jaw-drop, landing with a thud on the ground. She regained her composure.

"What? Are you sure you're ready?" she asked.

"I'm sure. We love each other…isn't that enough?"

"I suppose that is the true meaning of a wedding… Come to think of it, I've never been to a wedding… This might actually be fun."

Zelos, Sheena, Taren, Rusty, and Colette approached them.

"Who's getting married?" Zelos asked.

"Genis and Presea." Raine answered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. This little brat is stealing my little cutie?" Zelos exclaimed.

"Who are you calling a little brat!" Genis shouted.

"Why, only you, of course." Zelos snapped.

"You need to learn to shut up!" Sheena told, slapping Zelos across the face.

"Stop it, all of you!" Colette demanded, "If they're going to get married, we should be happy!"

"Colette's right. After Kratos is healed, we should begin preparing this wedding." Raine suggested.

"Yeah. How is that guy anyway? Did he awaken while I was gone?" Aaron asked.

"He's still unconscious. We're bringing in some of the best doctors as we speak. And…Lloyd refuses to leave his side. We're going to have Colette talk with him, so don't be worried." Raine explained.

"That guy is so lucky to be alive. I did test on the crash site, and that rock wasn't ordinary. I'm going to have scientific researchers begin to analyze the samples."

"You can do that? I didn't know the military does that type of research… Maybe I should join the military…" Raine thought aloud.

"We'd love to have all of you. You all are great warriors, and having you on the militia would be wonderful. Although, Sheena and Zelos I believe were your names…we probably won't be able to accept you. It's not anything personal, it's just that you own a village, and it's not in the Iselia-Triet region."

"Oh, that's okay. We have to take care of this place anyway. It's still developing...maybe someday we'll make an alliance with a nearby village and start our own militia." Sheena said.

"Perhaps. It would be interesting. Iselia-Triet is always open for alliances, though. You get a great amount of funding. So, keep us in consideration. Anyway, I should probably be off. I have to find my Rheaird, meaning I have to go into that wretched forest again."

"Oh, actually, we found your Rheiard. It's in a storage house. I'll go get it for you."

"Thank you. Oh, and Raine, are you coming back with me, or staying here? I think we should leave Genis here, to wait for Kratos."

"I wish to remain here. I think it's for the best." Raine answered.

Zelos and some other men carried in the Rheiard.

"Alright. I'll see you all later." Aaron said

The rest of them waved farewell, and Aaron took off for Iselia, his home. Or, his home for what he knew.

**RP #21 - Confused God. Posted 11-10-05**

_Rusty sighed as Aaron took off, almost immediately after having met, and turned to Taren with a sudden thought._

"Hey, didn't he say he was going to teach you some spells or something?"

_Taren nodded._

"Yeah, he showed me a few, but he said it'd be better to wait for a storm, remember? Anyway, we wern't around long enough for him to show me anything really cool..."

_He turned to Sheena, Zelos and Collette and nudged Rusty in the side._

"I think now might be a pretty good time to introduce ourselves."

_Rusty startled._

"Oh, right. Umm, hi. I'm Rusty Owiien, this is my friend Taren...I don't think we've met you guys, but you with the red hair...you look very familiar."

_Zelos smirked._

"Well of course, everybody knows about the great Zelos!"

_Rusty squinted._

"Err...who? I thought you looked familiar by image, but the name isn't registering anything."

_Zelos looked disappointed, while Sheena smirked in the much the same way he had. In fact, it appeared as though the two had just traded expressions. Rusty jumped._

"Ah, right! You were at that crater, wern't you? From the meteor, I remember seeing you...but it looked like you were flying...maybe I was just seeing things from all of the dust blowing around."

_Zelos gave a nervous smile. It was such an obvious fake that anyone other than Rusty would have noticed that he was nervous, and Taren just happened to be glancing through the window._

"Uh, Rusty, that girl over there looks familiar...she was at the impact crater, too! Remember?"

_Rusty looked out and across the street into the window of an adjacent restaurant. There, sitting at a booth, was a girl with medium-long brown hair._

"That's her! That's the girl who attacked us at the crater!"

_Sheena stepped forward and joined in on the staring._

"What? You mean Terra? I can't imagine why she would attack you guys...she's a very nice girl, really."

_Colette spoke very timidly, so much so that the others just barely heard her._

"Umm...wasn't Terra saying something about figures moving around in the dust storm? Maybe she thought you were one of them..."

_Rusty nodded._

"That makes sense, I saw something like that as well. I thought I was just hallucinating, but if two people saw the same thing..."

_Rusty turned to Taren._

"A-ha. I told you I wasn't seeing things."

_Taren rolled his eyes._

"Congratulations, you were right. That makes a grand total of, what, three times? Don't get too pleased with yourself."

_Rusty glared at Genis._

"Thanks for the note of confidence."

_He turned to Sheena._

"Heh, sorry, we didn't finish introductions, did we?"

_Sheena startled as though she just realized it herself._

"Right. I'm Sheena, this guy here, Zelos, is my husband. This girl here is Colette, Terra is the one you saw across the street...Genis and Presea are in the other room, but you've already met Presea. Umm, I don't know where everyone else is right now, but that's most of us."

_Zelos pointed at Rusty and Taren._

"So, the short one is Rusty and the shorter one is Taren, right?"

_Rusty gave Zelos a piercing glare and returned the point._

"Who did you say is vertically handicapped and could be stepped on!"

_Zelos backed up and gestured away from Rusty._

"Hey, man, don't be so hard on yourself. I didn't go that far."

_Taren smirked._

"Ignore him, he always flips out when somebody calls him short. You'd think he'd have grown up enough by now to ignore it."

_Rusty sighed._

"Yeah, well...anyway, it's nice to meet you all. If you don't mind, I think I'm going to go talk to that Terra girl and see if she remembers her victims."

_Sheena shook her head._

"Sorry, but you might not want to bother her for awhile. Colette and Lloyd are just about to reveal a few important things to her about her...heritage. Anyway, Genis and Presea are about to get married, why don't you two just hang around and celebrate with us? We have plenty of room for you two to stay here in New Mizuho."

_Rusty nodded._

"Thanks a lot. We'll do our best to pay for the rooms as soon as we get the chance to take a few bounties. We don't really have a huge itinerary as of this moment."

_Zelos laughed._

"Don't worry about it, shorty, we'll let you off free--ow!"

_Sheena kicked Zelos in the shin for calling Rusty short. It gave Rusty a feeling of satisfaction, and gratitude towards Sheena, who replaced Zelos' words._

"Sorry about him. What he meant to say was that we'd be perfectly happy to offer you free rooms for as long as you need them. Consider it a settlement for my guards attacking you, alright?"

_Rusty nodded._

"Thanks a lot. Actually, now that I think about it, some of your names do sound a little familiar."

_Taren elbowed Rusty._

"Duh! These are the guys who defeated the Cruxis who controlled the world years ago. Seriously, did you register anything you were told in history class?"

_Rusty scratched the back of his head._

"Heh, well, it was a very tiring class, y'know? As long as I kepy my hand in front of my eyes nobody could tell if I was awake or not so..."

_Taren sighed._

"You're a lost cause."

_Rusty glared._

"You're not exactly reknownable, yourself."

_The two glared each other down. Colette began to laugh softly, getting louder until Rusty and Taren looked to see what was so funny._

"I'm sorry, it's just that you look so much like Lloyd and Genis when we were all younger. It's almost like watching them in a memory."

_Sheena giggled._

"Yeah, now that you mention it, they act exactly like those two."

_Rusty looked confused._

"Umm...sorry, I don't know what you're talking about...who's Lloyd, again? Genis I think I know."

_Taren sighed again._

"Lloyd Irving, Rusty! It's the Lloyd Irving. Man, you are waaay behind the times."

_Rusty nodded._

"Oh, Irving, now that you mention the last name, I'm pretty sure he was an important guy. He's here?"

_Sheena nodded._

"Yep, but you'll have to wait to see him. Colette, you and Lloyd should go and confront Terra before she leaves the restaurant."

_Colette nodded. A sad look returned to her face as she realized once again what she had to do. Rusty, Taren and Arron's arrival had distracted her at first, but now she had no excuse. She would find Lloyd, and clear the illusion for Terra. Hopefully it would work out for the best. _

_Colette walked slowly out of the building, leaving Sheena and Zelos to show Rusty and Taren to their room. They unpacked while Sheena and Zelos departed to address their own problems. After they had properly emulated themselves to their temporary residence, they both sat down. Taren looked distraught about something, and when Rusty inquired he answered nervously._

"Don't you remember that thing Aaron was going on about in the forest? That thing he moisturized the ground to try and find, but couldn't? Well, I felt something like a mana presense, but I just ignored it. Now, though, I keep feeling the same presense, like it's really close. Also, with everyone talking about those shadowy figures from the impact crater, I can't help thinking it's not all just coincidence."

_Rusty shrugged._

"It's impossible to say anything for sure. It may all just be a myth generated by our imaginations, and it may be an actual threat. The best we can do in this situation is keep our guard up. We are residing within a ninja village, I'm sure any threat that shows itself around here can be dealt with easily."

_Taren smirked._

"Normally your a total idiot, but whenever you tackle a serious subject you have a ray of intelligence to your speech. You should do that more often."

_Rusty narrowed his eyes._

"Your don't have enough time to cast a spell before I smack you over the head, you know."

_Taren laughed._

"Nevermind. Let's head outside and see what's going on. I haven't been here before, I've only heard of New Mizuho. I wouldn't mind a chance to take a look at the culture."

_Rusty nodded in agreement._

"Right on. Let's head out, then."

_The two left their room, careless of whatever might be outside. Meanwhile, not far into the forest, something was taking watch over the village, plotting the best possible time and method for attack... _


	4. Revelation

**RP #1 - Captain Sagara. Posted 11-12-05**

Kalas walked out of the town, a little embarassed, but still retaining his dignity.

He went over the conversation he had with the half elf before, and stil couldnt figure out whats was what.

He was lucky his second time around, he found an elderly woman to talk to. He started to ask about a girl, but cut his sentence short about half way through, he knew that no one would would know her by the name that he did, let alone know her at all.

The elderly lady looked into kalas' eyes, and he felt akward to be stared at by someone he considered a bit below himself. His eyes darted from side to side. The elderly lady chuckled slightly and sent him on his way, which apparently was east.

Happy to be on the trail once again, Kalas pulled out some meat he had bought in the town, a treat he had not been able to experience for quite some time. Wrapped up in his meal, he did not see the forest looming up ahead.

He saw it and dropped his meat, he again, felt so at home, and knew that Mizuho, if it had been rebuilt at all, should have been rebuilt somewhere near here, it just seemed so right.

Kalas made his way into the forest, fully re-juvinated. He would have stopped for a drink, but knew that he had to see his sister, he started joggin, and eventually into a full sprint, but just as he had started sprinting, however, he sensed someone up ahead. He stopped, but skidded, and foolishly made a recognizeable noise.

He knew he was too far off to be seen well covered, so he hid himself behind a bush and stared out at the company of four. Half of him wanted to run out and meet them, but he was still unsure about them, so decided to follow instead.

Kalas walked along for what seemed like hours, and watched some impressive battles put on by them.

Finally, they reached the boreders of new mizuho, kalas was taken aback in all of its glory, it seemed so similar to his old home, yet so much more daunting in its bigger size.

He followed the party some more, and watched them enter a building, perhaps it was the building that housed Sheena, he knew that it probably wasn't, but he had to start somewhere, so he crept up to a window. He watched the discussion, but alas, he could not hear it.

After the talking subsided, Kalas walked up to the front door, as he walked he felt the blood pumping through his head, he wondered the fate of his grandfather, the old cheif, and then it hit him. If the old cheif had passed, Sheena would be the new cheif. Kalas was destined for that spot, and he felt ashamed that he had thrown that away, and brought such disrespect to his families name.

It was really the first time he had ever felt sorry for what he had done.

Kalas opened the dorr a tiny bit, jsut to peek in at first, but noone was there.

He went into the next room, where he was abruptly stopped by a commanding voice.

"Halt!

Who dares trespass in my hut? At such a time?" Kalas felt a shiver down his spine, he knew Sheena was here.

Taren and Rusty turned the corner to look upon the intruder.

"uh... Sheena?"

"you might wanna come here"

**RP #2 - Jawni. Posted 11-12-05**

"_What? What are you saying! I don't understand! No, I haven't done anything! No, NO! Please, don't! Aaarghh!" _

"_Waaaaah! …… Aaahhh… Oh… it was just a dream…"_

Aros woke up in a puddle of sweat. His nightmares had come back to him. He breath heavily. Everytime he tries closes his eyes the shadows of his past come to haunt him. He stod up from from the bed and rubbed his eyes. It was morning already. He went and washed his face and then sat on the bed and tried to shake off the nightmares.

Two days ago Aros Narnes went to see the meteorite that crashed near Gaorachhia Forest to see if there really were angels there. There were some people there who also came to see the meteorite. Some of them were from Luin and some came from as far as New Asgard. Aros spend a whole there looking for anything unnatural, but he found nothing. The others that were there had left hours ago, but Aros didn't. He had a feeling that there was something there.

Just as he was about to head back to Sybak, he saw a small piece blue fabric under some debree. Aros picked the fabric up and examined it closer. It was partially burned and felt very durable.

"_Why is this burned?"_ Aros thought to himself. _"Did the meteorite hit someone?"_

Aros took a closer look at the area near where he picked the fabric. The area was untouched so it couldn't been from any of the people that were there earlier.

"_Strange…"_

Aros stared at the fabric. He couldn't tell from what it was from. He had never seen anything like that. Still, there was something about it that Aros found weird. He put it in his bag and took a final look around the meteorite. It was starting to get dark. He walked down to the center of the crater and climped on to the meteorite. It looked like a big rock to Aros and because it was quite dark already he couldn't even see if there were anything intresting there. A little disaponted he climped down from the meteorite and made his way to the top of the crater. He decided to spend the night there and go back the Sybak the next day. Little did he know that he was going to have a sleepless night full of nighmares.

Aros stod up from the bed and looked at himself in the mirror. There was a handsom young man looking back at him. He was a lot taller than elves usualy were at his age. His long light blue hair toned down his strong facila figures. His eyes were bright and full of determination, but not this time. Aros only saw fear in his eyes. Deep fear. Fear which could paralyze even the strongest will. Aros pitied himself. He had fought off his nightmares countless times before, but now he was powerless against them. He felt weak and useless. The shadows from his past were taking over his thoughts. Twice had he felt weak before and twice had he lost someone he loved. Aros bursted into tears. He cried long and hard. An hour, maybe two passed before he got a hold of himself. He wiped the tears off from his face, put on his clothes and cloak, packed his belonings and walked out from the inn.

Sybak, as well as Luin, were both crowded with people who were going to go see the meteorite. Aros had been lucky to get a room at the inn. Many people were forced to sleep on the streets or in the outskirts of the city. Aros felt hungry. He went to the same café where he ate few days ago before he left to see the meteorite himself. An elderly couple had just finished their meal so Aros got their taple after they left. Aros sat down and looked around the café. Like the inn, the café was also crowded with people. Waiters and waitresses ran around the place taking orders and serving food. Aros knew he had to wait for awhile for a waiter to arrive to take his order. He pulled down the hod of his cloak and let the sunrays caress his face. A small smile appeared on his face. A waitress arrived.

"_May I take your order?" _

"_I'd like the daily special, thank you."_ Aros said with a trembling voice.

"_Are you ok, sir? Has something happened to you?"_ the waitress asked.

"_Oh, I'm fine. Just fine…"_ Aros replied, still with a trembling voice.

"_Well, if you say so… Hey! You are the traveller guy. You ate here few days ago, didn't you? So, did you go see the meterite? What was it like? Where there really angels there?" _

"…_.." _

"_Don't go all silent on me again. You really hurt my feelings before,"_ The waitress said with a serious voice.

"…_I'm sorry." _

"_You should be. Now, I'm about to take a break. Mind if I join you?" _

"_Actually, I…" _

"_Great!"_ she interupted. _"I'll just get your special and then you can tell me everything you saw back there at the meteorite."_

The waitress ran along to get Aros' meal. Aros felt like he should go, but something inside him told him to stay. It didn't take long for the waitress to come back with the daily special, vegetable soup. Aros just stared at it.

"_Don't give me that face. It's the same soup you ate before. Now, eat up!"_

Aros started eating it. The waitress stared at Aros as he ate the soup. Her eyes were locked on Aros' face. Aros didn't pay any notice to her. Once he finished the soup, he glanced up and saw the wairesses eyes locked on him.

"_W-why are you staring at me like that?"_ Aros asked, now with a more confident tone of voice.

"_You have such handsom facial figures. You really should cosider on tieing your hair back. It would bring out you face more."_

Aros turned red.

"_Ha ha haa! No need to blush. I was just saying that. Heh. So did you find anything intresting there, by the meteorite? Angels or such?" _

"_I'm really not in the mood for talking right now." _

"_Why? Did something happen to you back there, or what?"_

Aros pulled up the hood of his cloak. The waitress looked stuned.

"_Wow. That's an odd reaction. So something has happened to you, right? C'mon. You can tell me. I can keep a secret." _

"_It's nothing like that. It's just that I'm not comfortable talking about my personal matters. It has nothing to do with the meteorite or anything. I have my past and… umm. Never mind." _

"_Hey, you were just getting started. Please, continue." _

"_I appologize."_

Aros stod up and paid for his meal. He took his bag and left Sybak. The waitress was left alone by the table with an amazed look on his face.

"_He did it again!"_ she thought to herself. _"But next time you come here… hi hi hii!"_

It was already past noon when Aros reached the edge of Gaorachhia forest. He had decided to stop by at Luin before heading to New Palmacosta. He was reluctant to go through the forest so he took an alternative route around the forest. It was a warm day. Aros took of his cloak nad enjoyd the sunshine. Flowers were blooming on a nearby meddow and birds were singing beautifuly. Aros felt like the thoughts of his nightmares were melting away. He felt happy again.

It had been a peaceful day. Aros didn't see any monsters on his way which suited him just fine. He wasn't in the mood for fighting. Aros climped on top of a nearby hill to see the view. Suprisingly enough, he saw corn fields and a village near them. Aros hadn't been there before so out of curiosity he decided to stop by and ask about the place. He walked down the hill and headed towards the village. Somewho he felt like someone was watching him. He looked around, but saw nothing out of ordinary. He continued to walk towards the village. Then he heard something. It sounded like someone was walking behind him, but there were no one there.

"_I'm sure I heard something,"_ he thought. _"I wonder…. AIR THRUST!"_

A fierce wind blew around the land. Rocks were threwn around and nearby tress were shook. When the wind calmed the land was turned around, but there was no one there. If there were, the wind would've threwn them from their hideouts.

Aros' then continued to walk towards he village confident about that there were no one following there. He was wrong. When Aros got to the side of the fields three men dressed in blue jumped from the ground and two from the fields. Aros was surrounded.

"_Don't move,"_ one of them said, _"if you cherish your life."_

Aros took a quick look around his surroundings. There was nothing useful around him and he was greatly out numbered. He could've easily take out two or three of them, but five was just too much.

"_Humph. Guess I have no other option but to surrender."_ Aros said a little disappointed.

"_Good. Now turn around. You two. Tie his hands."_

Two men walked to Aros andtied his hands. Then they pushed him into the back and pointed towards the village. Aros started walking and the rest followed.

"_Don't try anything funny,"_ said the same man who talked before. _"We'll take you to our Chief so she can decide what to do with you."_

"_New Mizuho?"_ Aros thought. _"Never heard of that place. Sounds like I'm going to have a hard time here."_

The men took Aros to the village and threw him inside a hut. There were two guards standing next to the door.

"_There's no point in trying to escape,"_ one of them said. _"There are others outside waiting to come to my aid if I need them which I doubt."_

The man chuckled a bit.

"_Enough talk. Kage. Go inform the Chief about this." _

"_At once,"_ he said and ran along.

Aros sat down and looked around. There was no way he could run away from there and take out dozens of guards at the same time. He was a prisoner. The guard stared at Aros without blinking an eye.

"_So, have you heard any good rumors lately?"_ Aros asked and grined.

**RP #3 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 11-19-05**

As a medium size panther watched several groups of people enter her forest. She watcheed as several of her race attack the group, they were protecting their home.. but they were defeated. The human and half elves continued on their way... She continued to follow the small group.

**RP #4 - cepussinboots. Posted 11-22-05**

while riding the drillbird back to wherever he was headed, merlin had forgotten... he decided to head off somewhere. 'theres something strange about this land, and im not sure what it is' he whispered to himself, as he turned back around, and headed in the direction of the hidden elvish village, heimdall. as he flew, he came accross a cry for help that he heard directly below him. he flew down, and called the drillbird back into his staff, and looked about for the noise he heard. merlin headed towards a nearby cave which he saw, realising that the noise came from there, and he decided to explore.

'its dark in here' he whispered to himself, as he turned around, seeing that he was now very far from the enterance, so there was no sound. he raised his staff in the air, and mumbled a short spell, which lit up his whole staff, giving off a radiant light, which lit up the whole part of the cave he was in.

'oh my...' merlin said, flabbergasted by what he had discovered. he was in a room, full of strange carvings in the walls, of what looked like an ancient language, and at the same time, pictures of ferocious monsters, with wings, that were preying on, could it be... angels? merlin realised he had discovered something vital in the wonderment of what had happened to kratos. for this seemed to be in the language that the angelic spoke, so some angels must have been down in this cave at somepoint, and carved into the walls a danger that exsisted in their world, which still had a name that was unknown to merlin. he ventured deeper into the cave, looking around for more clues as to why this was here. he reached a pendilum with a book sat at it, and as he approached it he heard a voice, that made him shiver. _'get away from here, this place is not for humans to go creeping around in, get away or die'_

'urm...' merlin coughed. whatever that was, it didnt sound too threatening. so he opened the book, and looked in it. as he could not decipher the ancient language, he decided to take it back for research, to show that nice young lady named raine. there was only one inscription that was written allover the inside of the front, and back cover of the tattered book. in the same handwriting, Dherris Kharlan was written over and over again, hundreds of times. Now merlin had heard of that place before, and realised that it was probably the name of the land of the angels, where that strange red-brown haired man had come from supposdly.

'perhaps this is the answer to it all' merlin said, as he put the book in his bag.

_'fine, take the book, but be warned, you will not make it out of this cave alive'_

merlin ran for the enterance, and called his drillbird, but as he just reached the light, with the book in his bag, in his arms, and as he reached outside, the bird disappeared, and he collapsed into a heap, on this unknown cave, that was just off the shores of mizuho, and merlin was unconcious, but still with the book.

**RP #5 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 12-11-05**

As the panther like creature continued to watch one of the groups, a scout found her and gave him intructions to watch but not to interfer unless they are causing damage to the forest. She continue to kept her distance to the group she was watching as the scout joined others to keep watch on each of the groups.

**RP #6 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 12-28-05**

Anna turns from the group as they grow boring and goes to stalk, some prey that she can actually eat, a large white tailed doe which calmly eats in a clearing. The birds attempt to warn of inpending danger, but the black cat is too fast for the paniced creature as she lunges for her thoat, a loud cry of death echo out into the darkness of the forest as she sinking her canines into the esapogus sufficating the deer as it stuggles to shake the large humanoid cat, the deer slowly sinks to the ground gasping for breath as Anna's claws dig into the soft flesh, tear the skin from the flesh.

**RP #7 - cepussinboots. Posted 1-6-06**

Merlin looked up. judging by where the sun was, he could tell that it was at least nearish the evening. how long had he been here. He gradually stood up, and walked over to the enterance of the cave, and in trying to enter again, a magical force threw him back. 'fine' said merlin 'i wont go back in'. he noticed an old book on the floor, he had obviously managed to bring it out with him. 'yes!' he yelled, as he picked up the book. merlin was quite weak now, and could not sum enough energy to fly back to new mizuho, so instead, he started walking. he should be able to make it in a few days. he continued for a couple of hours, and when he eventually got near the enterance to new mizuho, (it hadnt taken him as long as he had thought) he collapsed in a heap, the book lying a couple of feet in front of him

**RP #8 - Jawni. Posted 1-7-06**

_Quite sometime had passed since the guard left to tell the Chief of New Mizuho about the prisoner they caught wandering around in their fields. Arod was sitting on the floor of the building, which probably was someones home since there was a table, stove and beds there. Aros had found some dolls on the floor and was admiring them. They didn't have any faces at all and were dressed in colorful clothes Aros had never seen before. _

_The guard was still standing next to the door and had his eye on Aros. He had a hard time containing himself. He thought it was funny that a grown man, a magiv user and a prisoner was playing with childrens dolls. The guard smirked a little, but quickly hid it behind his hand and continued to watch what Aros was doing. Boredom was getting to him since it had taken longer than usual for the Chief to arrive. Maybe she was busy, the guard thought and shruged. _

_Neither Aros nor the guard knew what was going to happen to this prisoner. Surprise would be an understatement. _

**RP #9 - White Rose. Posted 1-15-06**

Colette walked nervously to the restaurant, just as Terra was getting up from the table. The two approached opposite sides of the front door at the same time, and each got smacked on the head as they tried to both open it. Colette stepped back, rubbing her head, and Terra opened the door, rubbing her head as well. "I'm so sorry ma'am!" Terra said as she shook her head slightly, and looked at the woman in front of her. She startled a bit. "Mom!" Terra gasped and touched her shoulder. "I'm sorry! Are you alright?" Colette shook her head a bit and looked at Terra with a warm friendly face. She chuckled a bit. "I'm just fine." Terra chuckled some, and the two headed to a bench parked outside of the front of the restaurant, by the door. They sit down for a moment. "You never change do you?" Colette pauses and sighs. "No. I suppose I don't." She shuts her eyes and greets Terra with another happy smile, and laughs some. "But you should watch out yourself." They both laugh at one another. Colette opens her eyes back up, and begins to stare at Terra. Her happy smile slowly changing...

"Mom?" Terra saids as she tilts her head slightly to the side. "Why are you staring at me like that?" Colette sighs a bit and smiles at her. "Nothing." She shifts her body towards Terra's and place her hand on Terra's shoulders. Terra startles, and blushes a bit. "Mom...what is it?..." Colette's body begins to tremble slightly. Fighting back emotion, Colette sinks into thought as she continues to look at Terra...

Anger at Lloyd and herself for their cowardice in hiding everything... Sympathy towards Terra, for what she was about to be put through... The more Colette thought about what her and Lloyd were about to do, the more Colette hurt on the inside...and the more she worked to fight her feelings in front of her daughter. _'Sheena and Zelos are right..._' She thought sadly as she looked Terra over. _'Lloyd finally agreed to this...'_ She sighs again, and smiles once more at Terra--who returns a slightly more embarrased look. _'I hope we're ready for this.'_ She had one last small emotional thought. _'I hope you are too...'_ Colette wipes a single tear from her eye and continues with her thought. _'I'm sorry Terra... really I am...'_ Colette releases her daughter and rises off of the bench, with her head down turned away from Terra--obviously masking emotions that were about to escape. Terra stared back at Colette, trying to understand what was going on. She tilts her head to the other side and steps in front of her mother. "Mom, are you crying?" Colette began to walk away. "Terra." Colette saids. Terra startles. "Yes?" Colette turns around for a moment, staring at Terra once again. "Your father and I have something very important to discuss with you, okay?" Terra's eyes narrow some. "What do you mean? What?" Colette begins her walk once more. "Just meet us tonight. Inside of that hut there." Colette nods towards the hut where Kratos was at. Terra turns to look at it. "What? There? Isn't that where that injured man is at?" When Colette turned around to hear a response, Colette was gone... She looked left and right over and over. "Mom? Mom!" She sighs. "What was that all about?" She said with some irritation in her voice. "Mom sure isn't acting like her usual self lately..." She sighs again. "Oh well, I guess I'll see what's up tonight."

Activity is all hustle and bustle in the otherwise tranquil, and quiet New Mizuho. Much to the suprise of Zelos and Sheena, who are currently dealing with quite a few situations at the moment. The most recent are a man named Aros, and the long lost brother of Sheena named Kalas... as well as an unexpected wedding.

However... things still look bleek for the angelic human named Kratos Aurion... A man who, instead of being evaporated within the debris and chaos of the meteor shower which struck the new world just days ago...was instead... spared. His body at least. Whether alive or not was the question on everyone's minds. Those close to Kratos, those who secretly plot a hellish revenge against him... and those who have yet to know anything about him...

...For now though, his mind stirs subconciously...

Be it the last moments of his life, or, the start of his journey towards a questionable eternity beyond the world of the living, remains to be known...

As Lloyd looked at his father lying there helplessly, he wondered about him. "Dad..." He sighed as he lowered his head once again. He raised his head, got up off of the stool he was sitting on, and went over to the door. He slid it open, and peered outside, into the night sky. "This is it dad..." He said to himself as he sighed again, looking up at the night sky. His eyes shifted to a single star in the sky. One that seemed brighter than most. He stratched his arm, and ran his fingers through his hair. "I wish you were here to help me with this..." He lowered his hand again, and waited on Colette and Terra...

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

'Where am I...? The voice of a man whispers sluggishly. He rises up off of the wet grass upon which his body was resting, and places his hand on the back of his head, hoping to stop the throbbing pain that suddenly spread through it. "Oww... damn it..." His head felt very warm to the touch, and he felt a slight bump there. He pulled his hand away from his head, and looked at it. It was caked in blood, and debris... as was his chest, his face, his legs... everywhere practically. He moved his hand down to one of his legs, and felt a bone--in a place it wasn't suppose to be... He moved his hand to other areas, discovering more broken bones, cuts and bruises. He looked around in the night, and spotted a mangled Rheaird close by. Obviously unoperable anymore... "Great... now I remember..." He said painfully as he laid back down, and fell into a flashback of what happened...

_The night of the crash... _

_Raiden Bryant, adopted son of Regal Bryant, left to trail Zelos and Sheena on their way over to the meteor crash. Unbeknownst to Raiden, he had company during his trip. _

_"Raiden, promise me you'll be careful. I don't want to lose my new president. Or my son." Regal said warmly as he helped Raiden prepare for his journey out on the Rheaird. "I've tried to keep her running smoothly, but this Rheaird is very old. She may not be able to handle like she use to, even with all of the repair she's received over the years." Regal finished. Raiden chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of her." Regal looked at Raiden as he boarded the Rheaird. "You just take care of yourself." He nodded to Raiden, and smiled a bit. "I'm getting on in years as well, I'm afraid.' He sighed. 'I'm not quite the fighter I use to be..." Raiden nodded at him. "You're an awsome fighter. I only manage to beat you with luck." Regal shook his head. "With skill, Raiden. You beat me with skill... and with your youth." Raiden stared at Regal, and smiled moments later. "Don't be so hard on yourself dad. You're still useful. And you'll still be useful when you're 80. I know it." Regal laughed. "I'll be lucky if I make it to 80." Raiden shook his head with a smirk. "I should go. It's getting pretty late." Regal nodded. "Give my greetings to Sheena and Zelos, alright?" Raiden nodded. "I will.' He tilted his head at Regal. 'I'm curious though...Why didn't you want to come along?" Regal crossed his arms and turned his head. "...I'm not the adventurer I use to be... Besides... someone has to be here to look after things." He looks at Raiden. "I'll pray you'll have a safe journey." They look at one another. "Thanks dad." Raiden starts the Rheaird, and in just moments, it takes off into the night sky. 'Don't forget what you've learned Raiden... We have no idea what's out there. Be ready for anything.' Regal thinks to himself as he watches the last of the trail of smoke from the Rheaird dissipate into the air... _

_An hour had passed as Raiden's night voyage began. The atmosphere before him was violent and unforgiving. Waves crashed with force against the rock walls of the shore underneath him, winds howled with ferocity, mercilessly shaking the trees back and forth; and debris and dust were everywhere. "Gee. Nice night..." He said sarcastically to himself as he looked around. He ducked his head; covering what he could of it, with one of his arms. "Man, this weather is nuts!" He said again, wiping some sand from his eyes. Something banged the side of the Rheaird and it tilted for a moment, seemingly ready to stall. "Come on baby... don't do this." He said to the Rheaird, as if expecting it to respond. The Rheaird, though a bit shaky at times, was otherwise in pretty good shape, despite it's age and what it went though. Raiden looked at the the controls, and pressed a sequence of buttons, hoping to give it just a bit more juice. Luckily, that worked, and it started back up. 'Tough... and brave as hell. Just like Regal.' He thought as he was trying to invision all that Regal went through during his journey with Lloyd, Colette, and the others... _

_Clang! _

_Raiden snapped out of his thoughts with a shock as something else hit the back of the Rheaird. _

_Clang, clang! _

_Again and again, his Rheaird was being pelted, over and over. He looked back behind him through the dust and debris of the nearing crash site below, and could only make out shadowy figures. 'What the? What's hitting me?' He swerved from left to right, frantically trying to avoid whatever seemed to be firing at him. Continuously, for 5 minutes it seemed, he was dodging attack as hard as possible, being hit from time to time. He looked back again, and suddenly ducked again. What looked like a purple stream of light quickly whizzed by his head. "Whoa! What in hell!" He shouted as he peeked out from under his arms, scanning to see behind him once more. Only this time... the shadows were gone... _

_"What in the world is going on? And... What was following me?" A million questions flowed into his head as he thought about what to do next. He turned around to face his destination, and flew for about a few seconds when suddenly, he came face to face with his two pursuers; still cloaked in the shelter of the dust storm, and instantly stopped the Rheaird. When the dust seemed to calm and settle just moments later, Raiden finally got the chance to look at his attackers. _

_About 5 feet tall, oozing a green substance from snout like mouths on elongated spike cover faces, with skinny cloaked bodies, long arms with spiderish fingers, long sharp claws, frog like feet, and staring at Raiden with black opaque eyes, hovered two alien like creatures of which Raiden had never seen the likes of anywhere before. He stared at them--both with curiosity, and caution... "So, I finally meet my attackers." He said as he hovered on the Rheaird, fearing movement at the cost of his life. The two aliens looked at one another, and muttered something in another language in a low tone. He tilted his head, trying to get a grip of the situation. He thought to himself for a moment, as the two creatures continued to talk. 'No good... I can't fight up here on this thing. Damn it, I'm in deep sh..' His thought was cut off as the two stared back at him again. One pointed a finger at him, and said something he couldn't understand. "What do you want?" Raiden said with worry. The other one ran a finger at it's throat, and Raiden's eyes became filled with fear. "Ahh... I see." He muttered to himself, as he looked around for some kind of escape. _

_They could move faster than the Rheaird. They were armed to the teeth. They were uncaring. And they were after him for some reason. Raiden didn't care. He had to escape. He wasn't concerned with the crash site at this point. Getting away with his life, and some helpful information for the others was his top priority at the moment. He stared at them one last time, taking in every detail about what he saw. The creatures extended their claws... And in an instant, Raiden sped away from them as fast as he could. _

_Suprised, the aliens gave chase, easily catching up to, and outmatching the fast Rheaird. They had to slow their pursuit to stay in unison with Raiden and the vehicle. Raiden dodged and ducked upon the Rheaird as the aliens began their attack. Over and over again, the aliens hacked and slashed, hoping for a piece of the young man. Moving side by side, like lightning over land and sea, the three continued their aerial battle, knife like claws and all. Seeminly fed up with the young man, one of the aliens stopped in it's tracks. It started to charge up it's hand as it's comrade continued to fight with Raiden. Finished just a short time later, the alien launches at Raiden with great speed and ferocity--it's glowing hand clutched tightly out in front of it. The glow soon overtakes it's entire body, and Raiden has only seconds to look and react before being pulvarized by the glowing alien. "Gahhhhh!" Raiden screams in pain as he and the Rheaird are caught in the glow, and are being ripped and broken. The alien careens towards the land at breakneck speed. It grabs ahold of Raiden and the Rheaird. Squirming with all of his might, Raiden tried desperately to break free of the aliens grasp. "No! Damn it!" Praying for his life, he some how musters up something from within at the last moment possible. "Bastion!" He shouts as his body is covered by a weak green sphere of mana. The alien then lauches him and the Rheaird hard into the ground. All Raiden has time for is one quick scream before slamming hard into the earth... _

_...Raiden blacks out upon landing on the ground. Rolling over and over, he smacks into a rock and falls unconcious. The Rheaird tumbles over and over, cracking and chipping everywhere. The engine goes out, and it explodes just moments later, sending shards all over the place. Some stick into trees, some into the ground, and some... despite the protection of Bastion, manage to stick into Raiden... narrowly missing vital areas... _

_Inspecting everything, the aliens take off, certain their targets were dead... _

Coming out of his flash back, Raiden weakly rises and stands on his feet, falling over right after. "Damn it all..." He mutters in pain. He tried to get up again, struggling with all he had left inside. Failing at that once again and falling over, he struggled just to sit up. A failed attempt at best. "I can't even move..." He muttered again, wincing at the throbbing pain in his body. He spotted a piece of the Rheaird lodged in his leg. "Wonderful..." He said as he rose up as hard as he could, going to pull it out. He screamed at the pain, and stopped. "No way I'm getting that out..." He moved his hand to the upper part of his left arm, and felt another piece of debris lodged in that as well. "You've got to be kidding..." He sighed, not bothering to try for this piece. "I can't just sit here. I've gotta get help..." He looked around, and spotted a long branch lying on some rocks by the shore in front of him--several feet away. He sighed again, dreading the crawl over to it. "Great..." He said as he started to crawl slowly to the branch, wincing and groaning in serious pain. 'Mind over matter... Mind over matter...' He thought over and over, trying hard to ignore the severe pain coursing through his entire body. Reaching the branch many minutes later, Raiden grabbed it, and stuck it into the ground. He then struggled to his feet once again, managing to get up this time. He held onto the branch for dear life, and looked around... spotting what seemed like some lights off in the distance. "I can't believe my luck. New Ozette!" He said with shock and happiness. "Presea will be there... I know it." He said again, beginning the painful walk through the woods towards the villaged at the end...

...Back in New Mizuho, that night...

"Mom? Dad?" Terra said as she warily approached the small hut where the injured man was. The door slid open a minute later, and Colette peeked her head through. "We're both here. Come on in..." She said both nervously, and sadly. Terra tilted her head. "Okay..." She said nervously. She stepped into the tiny hut, only this time it was lit up by the light of two small lanturn's which hung adjacent to one another at opposite corners of the room. A small pot of tea was brewing in another corner, and the injured Kratos was still lying there, helplessly. "Shut the door." Lloyd spoke softly to Terra, who seemed shocked that he even spoke anything. Collecting herself, she acknowledged him, and slid the door closed, locking it from the inside. Colette ushered her over next to her, where an empty stool sat. Terra came over to it, and sat down, looking at her parents the entire time. "Sooo..." She started to say, not really knowing what to say. "Terra... You're old enough now... so I... we owe this to you." Lloyd said with a shameful tone in his voice. "We should've came clean years ago Terra..." He hung his head. "Forgive us..." Terra looked at her dad with a perplexed expression... "Owe me what? What's going on?"

The conversation both Lloyd and Colette had been dreading since Terra was born had finally started...

...And they began to explain it all...

About the world 20 years ago...  
About the journey of 'Chosen Ones'... how all had failed, except for Colette's...  
About the history of the Half-elves, Elves, Humans, the Rheairds ... and Noishe...  
About the ancient Kharlan War, Mithos, Yggdrasil, Yuan, Botta, the Desians, the Renegades... About everyone that they had met or travelled with...  
About Lloyd's past...

And finally...

About the man that lay before her...

The 4000 year old human called Kratos Aurion...

...Her own Grandfather...

In a matter of many hours of happy times, bittersweet moments, and terrible memories... they explained everything to Terra, who was left completely speechless, shocked, dumbfounded, scared... you name it. She sat in her stool for about 10 minutes after the conversation had ended, with a blank stare on her face. Trying on the inside to take everything in, trying to make sense of any of it... trying, just trying to restrain herself from lashing out at her parents one way or another... She slowly turned her head a bit to look at Kratos, then once more to look at Lloyd. She returned to her blank state of mind soon after that. "...Forgive us Terra..." Said a distraut Lloyd with tears rolling down his face. Colette leaned on him, allowing her shoulder for him to weep on. She wiped her own eyes off, and looked at her daughter. "We never meant to keep this from you... honestly..." But Terra didn't respond... Not suprising to Colette, or Lloyd, who sat against each other. Lloyd looked at Kratos. "I'm sorry I waited so long... I'm so sorry..."

Fed up with hearing it all, Terra finally got up with her head down... her eyes shadowed from her parents. She undid the lock on the door, and slid it open. Stepping out into the pre-dawn light, she began to walk away from the hut... passing Raine, Genis, Zelos, Sheena, Presea, and many others who had easedropped on the conversation... Zelos and the others looked at Terra as she started to dissappear from view, headed out of the village--going God knows where... "Terra..." Zelos said with remorse as he stretched his hand out, expecting to somehow reach out to her. He recoiled it and put it down, lowering his head in sadness and disappointment. "Damn it. If only I had known sooner that Lloyd didn't talk to her about any of this... I could've--" Sheena touched his shoulder, and leaned on him. "She needed to hear it from them... You know that Zelos." He sighed sadly and shook his head, then nodded. "Yeah... I know..." Raine backs away from the hut and ushers to the others. "Come on... we've all heard far more than we needed too. Let's let this family pull themselves together in peace..." Everyone around agrees and starts to leave the area, except for the main group. Genis looks towards Presea, and then to where Terra is headed. "Poor Terra..." Presea looks at him with sympathy. "There is no telling what waits outside of this village... We should watch over her tonight..." He nods, and they head off after Terra...

**RP #10 - cepussinboots. Posted 1-15-06**

Merlin had been lying in the bushes at the enterance of New Mizuho for a while now, passed out. He woke up, and it was dark, judging by the position of the moon, it was way after midnight. He managed to crawl to his feet, but he couldnt manage to carry the book. he was to weak, so he decided to look for someone, hoping they would be up at this hour. he slowly limped his way into new mizuho, and got confused with all the huts. 'which one is she in?' he whispered to himself. he continued to look amongst the huts, peering into the windows. he looked into one window, and it was the room of terra, who seemed to be crying. he watched her for a while, as she sulked into her pillow, and threw her bedding accross the room in a fit of rage. clearly not the right person to get at this time. Merlin moved on. he peered into a window of a hut two doors down from terra's, and it was just who he wanted, although she was asleep. he moved to the door, and creaked it open. he crept past genis' room, and into raine's room. "raine?" he whispered.  
no response. "Raine!" he said slightly louder, until he drove himself to start shaking her resting body! Raine woke with a start "what is it ge-" she looked up at the grinnning face of the old wizard. "aaaah!" she screamed. "merlin? what are you doing here?"  
merlin sighed "i think i just found something that may give us a clue on what happened to that strange man"  
raine looked at him blankly. "interesting..., but how would you be able to find something like that?"  
merlin laughed "well, lets just say, okay, well lets not JUST say, its just that"  
"spit it out!" Raine yelled, quietly, trying not to wake other people.   
"okay, well i heard a screaming voice from a cave, and i found this book in it, but i was attacked on the way out, and im afraid i was too weak to carry the book here"  
raine considered this for a second. "attacked by what exactly...?" she asked merlin "well... it was kind of like a voice, muttering spells. i saw nothing" he responded  
"okay, wheres the book then?" she asked him, and he lead her to it. she picked it up and examined it. "this requires a more careful study in the morning, i shall gather everyone round, in the mean time, you should get some rest"  
merlin nodded, and went off to his own hut, and went to sleep.

Merlin woke with a start. it was daytime, and he felt FINE! he jumped out of bed, threw his robe on, and walked out of his hut singing. "oh what a beautiful morning!" he saw lloyd run pass him, knocking him over. "hey watch it!" merlin yelled.  
lloyd paused, and came back and helped Merlin up. "heh, sorry merlin, i was kinda in a hurry"  
"well i see that!" merlin said, staggering back onto his feet " just why?"  
"raine called us to kratos' erm... that strange mans hut, she said shes discovered something incredible... in a book she aquired last night, from... well you i think it was" merlin smiled "ah yes, quite a day i had yesterday!" he looked smugly at lloyd, who was already gone. "wait a second, whos kratos?" merlin yelled, running after lloyd, eventually reaching the inners of kratos chamber.  
everyone was there, zelos, genis, sheena, lloyd, colette, presea and raine, just no terra, just the old adventurers. Raine looked up at merlin. "ah merlin, im glad you were here. i think your book may help us have an idea on what happened to Kratos"...


	5. Beasts in the Forest

**RP #11 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 1-16-06**

Anna continued to the edge of the forest leaving the large group behind, she knew where she was going but uncertain of her desination as if called to assist someone but not knowing who. At the edge of the forest, she hesitated as she never really ventured out for the forest. She could hear the group chatting in the distance still sounding confused and excited (OCC: can be a mile away) Looking out she darted into the light of the plain heading as if called toward a town, she knew nothing about.

**RP #12 - Dragoon Taryn. Posted 1-17-06**

It was night. Inside the crater that was left by the impact of the large meteor that rained down on the world days before, a shadowy figure moved around stealthily. The firgure kneeled down in the middle of the crater, pressing their palm to the ground, then sighing in dejection. "Nothing... there's no clues here," a young woman's voice whispered.

She stood back up, wiping the dust off her hands, and continued to move about the crater, searching for something, anything that would solve the mystery of why the meteor crashed here. After a thorough sweep of the area, Ellyria Highwind blew some stray hairs off her face, then adding a sigh. "This job is tougher than I thought, and I was thinking this would be easy money."

The day after the impact, Ellyria had been approached by a archeologist from Asgard who wanted samples of anything that could be found at the crater, and he promised to pay her a large sum if she went and retrieved something. Thinking the job to be easy for such a large reward, Ellyria gladly accepted the task. Now, a couple days later, she was beginning to regret her decision.

"You'd think a meteor crashing down would leave some fragments or something, but there's absolutely NOTHING here," she muttered, stretching her arms out in front of her.

As if something had heard her complaints, Ellyria caught the sight of something on the ground, inches from where she was standing. Retreiving it, she saw it was a small torn piece of purple cloth. "Score one for me. It may be a normal piece of cloth, but he promised to pay me if I found _something_." Smirking, she slid her finding into the pouch at her hip before turning head out of the crater.

After she pulled herself out of the crater, Ellyria realized she was not alone. Whipping around, she brandished her sword, the Idun, and got into battle stance. "Who's there? I know you're out there! Show yourself!"

As if the presence saw her words as a challenge, Ellyria was hit with an impact that almost knocked the wind out of her. "Urgh..." she winched, wiping the blood off her lips. "Lucky first shot... Judgment Bolt!"

Dancing bolts of purple lightning surrounded the enemy, allowing Ellyria's unseen enemy to be seen. The creature was shorter than she, with a snout that seemed to ooze a green substance. The face was covered in spikes, and it had long sharp claws on the end of its fingers. That was all Ellyria could make out before her attack struck the creature, who howled when hit by the bolts.

"Ha ha! No one messes with me!" she boasted to her seemingly dead opponent, who lay on the ground.

Suddenly, a sharp pain rose up Ellyria's arm. Looking down in a panic, she saw that the creature had not only survived her attack, but it had managed to counterattack, scratching her arm with its claws. "Why you...!" She raised the Idun in the air and brought it down upon the creature's shoulder. As soon as she hit it, it was obvious that her attack had not affected her enemy in the slightest.

_Dammit, not good, really not good!_ Ellyria thought, looking around for a safe escape. _Only one thing to do._

Holding her uninjured arm out, she shouted, "Whirlwind!" which caused mighty air currents to encircle the creature. With the spell temporarily binding it in place, Ellyria made a quick dash through the fields.

After she was out of the fields and into a more sheltered area, she assessed the damage on her arm. The wound was not deep, but it was messy, and the ooze that seemed to come from the creature's mouth was running down her wound. Sighing, she pulled two things out of her pouch: a heavy linen bandage, and a small vial. Gently, she scraped some of the ooze off her arm and into the vial, then dressed her wound with the bandage. _Something number two,_ she thought with a grimace, putting the vial into her pouch.

Shaking her head a bit, Ellyria tried to think of her next move. _The nearest town... where could I go... _

**RP #13 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 1-19-06**

As she was running near the edge of the forest Anna's ears pricked as a shiver went down her spine as a howl reached her ears, sliding to a halt causing the dust and leaves to rise quickly. She tilted her head at the sound recognizing it to to the sound of a werewolf, a werewolf in her home. She stood looking out toward the field then back at the woods, growling she dove back into the forest in search of the creature that invaded her home.

Darting through the trees avoiding the strangers in the forest, she heard others of her kind moving swiftly but silently. Anna eyes darted to and fro as the wind changed in the trees as the leaves silently spoke of another.

**RP #14 - Newtype06. Posted 1-19-06**

Deadin was taking to his new job nicely. No one really seemed to notice the wolf that ambled around the village of New Mizuho. On occasion, someone would notice him, but Deadin had become a master of blending into a crowd. Quite ironic, seeing as how different he really was. Many of the villagers seemed to pass Deadin off as a really big dog, especially Terra's father for some strange reason.

Deadin did a quick sweep of the village, and pondered to himself. Kratos, here? He thought, as he crossed a busy street. _Well I guess that mystery is up to the old man and the rest of the group._ Deadin finished his inspection of the village, deemed it safe for Lady Terra, and decided to check the perimeter. _Lady Terra_. Deadin was most ashamed of his outburst in the forest, the one that left him exposed for the girl to witness. However, she seemed to accept him kindly, even letting him ride on her Rheiard back with her. She was the closest thing to a friend Deadin had had in nearly one hundred and sixty years…

Then it happened. Upon exiting the town, Deadin felt it. The Beast reared up in his mind. The Grey Wolf, who had been so calmly pacing back and forth, suddenly raced into the forest. If this keeps up, Deadin mused, I will never have peace again. Deadin hid himself deep in the forest, and succumbed to the Beast.

It is a terrifying feeling, losing control of your body, but Deadin Draugdu was well acquainted with it. Most people would probably go crazy, feeling their true consciousness shoved into the depths of their mind. It was a miracle Deadin didn't go insane during those first years… The Beast took control, and the howling, snarling monster that was the Wolf ruled.

Hours passed, and Deadin Draugdu finally suppressed the Beast. Needless to say, it didn't go down without a fight. As the two psyches fought, Deadin inadvertently shifted to his Hybrid form. Any poor onlooker would have seen a mad, bipedal wolf decked out in a leather tunic, carrying a massive broadsword at his waist. They would have also noticed the mad, ravenous look in its eyes. Constantly howling and clawing, the Beast finally returned to its place in the far corners of Deadin's mind. The Hybrid collapsed, and laid there in exhaustion until something caught his attention. It was a scent, one that he had never smelt before, and it was heading in his direction with great haste. Deadin then realized that he was a stranger in a foreign forest. He remembered the pain and anger of seeing his own forest leveled, and wondered if the keeper of this one took kindly to strangers...

"P-pp-Perfect…Bbbb…Beast!" came the guttural voice of Deadin's hybrid form, but the Ymirian Shadow Wolf was just too exhausted to change. He sat down on a rock, meditated, and decided to let fate rule this day.

**RP #15 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posed 1-20-06**

As the medium size elven panther humanoid approuched the town, she slowed down, her emerald green eyes looked through the dence folage. She eyes glowed yellow into the town. This was a human type town which her people avoided but something was here that was distressing the forest animals. As a woman stepped out of a shop, she turned as if she felt something watching, Anna sank back into the darkness blending into the darkness as she moved around the town avoiding humans as they seemed to scare a little too easy. She moved around the town seeking what she senced, curious she watched as the town bustled busily

**RP #16 - Newtype06. Posted 1-20-06**

Much time had passed, since Deadin Draugdu had had his outburst. As he sat there on the rock in the woods, meticulously sharpening his sword with a whetstone, his mind drifted to that unknown scent that had approached him, but had stealthily moved away. It was faint now, the scent. With the constantly changing winds, Deadin could barely keep track of anything in the forest. The Hybrid sat there, thinking to himself, sharpening his sword. The wind changed again.

The scent was back, but this time it was somewhere that Deadin did not expect it to be. It was at the outskirts of the Forest, almost at the boundary of the Village. Deadin went into a state of high alert. The mystery scent could be after Lady Terra! With that thought, Deadin jumped off the rock, and began running. "Perfect Beast!" he shouted, and the two footed tracks he left suddenly became four paws. Deadin raced toward the scent, intent on stopping it from whatever evil deed it might have planned.

**RP #17 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 1-23-06**

Anna again sniffed the area realizing the scent was not coming from the village but outside it, and her eye widen and it had changed slightly. Turning, she moved away from the village toward the smell that was seemly seeing her out as well. Emerging from the shadows lunged a large doglike creature, letting out loud roar Anna went on to all fours in defence. They circled, their eyes meeting as the other was deciding their next move.

**RP #18 - Newtype06. Posted 1-23-06**

Deadin gripped his broadsword with both hands, carefully circling around the panther-beast. Whatever it was, it was definitely sentient. Deadin could tell, not just by the cloak the beast wore but also by the emotion in its eyes. The emerald orbs were fastened not on Deadin's sword, as a beast's would be, but on his eyes. Deadin relaxed slightly. If he could sway the creature with words, than maybe bloodshed would be unnecessary. With a very exaggerated motion, Deadin sheathed his sword, and leaned up against a tree. However, swords were not the only weapons Deadin wielded, and by no means was he not a threat anymore. "Apparently there has been a misunderstanding." Deadin's slightly ravaged voice said. The panther cocked its head and settled into a less aggressive stance. "I know you can understand me. Your eyes give you away. I apologize for trespassing in your forest. Permit me to introduce myself. I am Deadin Draugdu, the Ymirian Shadow Wolf. I seem to have stumbled into your sanctuary during one of my fits." Fits, Deadin mused, _if only they were that…_ "And while I realize I am the trespasser here, I must ask: Why were you looking into that village?"

For the first time, the Panther sat back, and suddenly stood up. Deadin's wolfish features could still betray his surprise. For the first time in almost two hundred years, he was looking at a hybrid like himself. Granted, this one was a panther, but a hybrid just the same. At last, the panther spoke. "You may call me Anna, and the reason I was at the boundary is my own business. However, I never intended to do any harm to those there. We have lived peacefully side by side for many years. No, I was intent on finding you, Shadow Wolf, and finding out what you were doing in my forest." Her explanation finished, Anna took the time to brush off some of the leaves and twigs that had fallen onto her cloak. Deadin was deep in thought, contemplating whether Anna's story was true. He sighed, and nodded. "I trust your story, Anna. Again, I apologize for the intrusion. I must return to my duties in the village." And with that, Deadin ran off.

**RP #19 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 1-24-06**

As Anna watched him lope away, she realized that he called his transformations, fits, like most werecreatures who were elven decent. Looking back toward the town, she turned and followed Deadin, her elven ancesty was more of the dark elf which worked with the werefolk then against it... it was her feline half that was uncomfortable. The birds began singing once more as she followed his trail, leaping up into the trees as to avoid leaving much of through the forest til she came upon him, but did not emerge from the trees. She mearly watched him while thinking of her father, who had taught her the ways of the dark elves. Instead staying to watch Deadin, she gracefully moved leaving him alone and headed for the edge of the forest were she felt something calling her, needing her aid but she was nervious of leaving the forest. She had never traveled alone outside the forest, thinking she returned to the village and waited on the outskirts for Deadin to return.


	6. One Fateful Night

**RP #1 - Newtype06. Posted 1-25-06**

Deadin walked slowly through the forest, having left the panther-woman. His mind raced with the idea that there were others like him, other hybrids who must cope with a sentient and animal mind. Nearing the threshold of the village, Deadin whispered to himself, "perfect beast…" Slowly, the grey fur shed off his body, and leather formed underneath. Truly elven again, Deadin walked back through the village. Things nearby seemed to be in an uproar. Lady Terra had been speaking with her father and mother when suddenly she had run out, and had disappeared. It was getting really late, and Terra was last seen running off alone. The Elf had barely arrived, barely preserved his sanity with a taste of civilization, and now he would have to leave again. Deadin found himself a shadowy section to transform in, and the Elf that walked on two legs became the Wolf who walked on four. The unassuming canine ambled his way through a few crowds, and finally made his way to Lady Terra's temporary house. Lloyd was there, standing in the doorway, looking off into the forest. Deadin could only guess why. He did not have to guess how Lloyd was feeling, though. Tears streamed freely down his cheeks, and he made no attempt to remove them. Eventually, Colette came out as well. She slid her arm around Lloyd's waist, and leaned up against him. They both seemed…so sad… Between sniffles, Lloyd managed to say, "Isn't that that dog Terra found?" indicating Deadin. "Yeah, I guess she needs a cute little friend right now." Colette replied.

Deadin had no idea how he could be regarded as "cute", but decided to take the compliment anyways. The three of them stood there, looking off into the forest. The wind changed, and brought something new to Deadin's nose: Lady Terra. She was not far off, but she was running away quickly. He could smell everything about her. He knew of her tears, her sadness, and her fear. Deadin took a few steps forward, then turned and looked Lloyd and Colette straight in the eye. The Wolf's head dipped, almost as if in a bow, and it quickly turned and ran off. "What was that about?" Colette asked, looking up at Lloyd. "I don't know, but I could swear I saw it run on two legs there for a second."

Something hit Deadin's nose. Not so much a physical strike as much as a flick, Deadin looked down and saw a little droplet of water. Rain. Almost on command, the clouds opened up, and unleashed a torrent of water. Deadin shook his head, clearing the excess water from it. He tried his best to lock onto Terra's scent, and pressed onward.

**RP #2 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 1-25-06**

As the rain came down, Anna glanced up then vanished into the natural protection of the forest but stayed in sight of the village, she dared on enter due to her appearance. She had tried when she was younger but the warriors had chased her off thinking her a wild animal, she had barely escaped both of her parents had died of unknown causes soon after the worlds merged. Years later, she had met another met another like her, but his hybred was considered a curse to all creatures. The therianthrope it seems was trying to protect someone, as the rain came down faster, she heard footsteps. Turning she watched as several people soaked to the bone enter the village, she recognized them to be hunters, but not the village hunters but therianthrope hunters.

**RP #3 - White Rose. Posted 1-26-06**

Night... again.

The mind of a scorned man... a dark void... a tangled web...

What does it dream?

And...

What haunts it so?

_'You betrayed me... You, my only human friend in the world...' A voice calls out to a man. The voice, which was hidden from view, echoed sadly through the grey clouds which covered the land where this man stood. The man looked around, unable to see through the rain of a dreary, blood stained field. 'Mithos?' He called out... but no response followed... Sounds of a battle rage on in the distance. The crash of metal upon metal resound in the air... voices calling out, faces exchanging looks to other faces... screams of terror echo... 'You... you're suppose to be dead...' The man said again, greatly perplexed. Mithos snapped. 'Be quiet!' Mithos paused before speaking again. 'Why Kratos? Why did you betray me? I thought I could trust you.' His eyes narrowed. 'In fact, I did trust you...' Kratos Aurion, the last member of Cruxis, and friend to Mithos, stared at Mithos with great sadness. 'Mithos, I didn't... I never meant...' Kratos said again as he looked around once more, taking to the air, wiping the water from his face, and trying to spot his accuser. The sounds of the blades grow louder, the screams grow stronger... _

_The leader of Cruxis in his younger form, known to a select few as Mithos, suddenly appeared in a ghostly presence. He descended from the dark clouds with his back turned, in front of Kratos. The translucent being turned to face the voice who spoke to him with such pain and remorse. He sneered, narrowed his eyes in anger, and they stared into the eyes of each other, only Mithos' stare wasn't gentle. It was a stare so cold and piercing, anyone would be chilled to the bone. Mithos balled his fists in anger. 'Shut up traitor.' He snapped with a grim, cold tone to his voice. Kratos spoke. 'I did not betray you Mithos, and you know it.' Mithos' teeth furled in anger. 'You are a mere human!' He snapped. 'You did not understand me then, and you don't understand me now. You never will...' Mithos turned his face away from Kratos', seemingly sickened at it. Kratos turned away as well, almost as if ashamed. He did not speak... _

_'...What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?' Kratos gasped with surprise, and anxiously looked around as the sound of another familiar voice echoed in the clouds. 'No...' Kratos said with a shaky tone of voice. The voice seemed to wait for him to speak again. Silent minutes passed... with the exception of the battle raging in off in the distance, and the trickle of water hitting the ground. The voice became angry. 'The silent treatment!' It spoke with anger. 'Don't be like that, father. Of course you know who I am.' Said the second voice once again. Like Mithos just moments earlier, the being appeared in a ghostly presence, hovering in front of Kratos, but facing him. The being was a teenage male with short brown hair, dressed in a red long sleeved shirt, overalls, and a black pants with red boots. The boy sneered at Kratos as well. 'Murderer.' Kratos' eyes widened as if in total shock. He looked the boy over, and couldn't believe his eyes. 'Don't you recognize me Kratos?...' Kratos, was silent once again... 'Oh wait... that's right. You gave up on me along time ago. You wouldn't know me if you saw me, would you?' Said the voice of the teen. Kratos gasped, then finally spoke to the ghostly figures. 'Lloyd... I didn't... I...' He said with sadness. 'Liar!' Lloyd shouted angrily. His eyes filled with hatred. 'You abandoned me...' Tears began to roll down Lloyd's face. Kratos almost reached out a hand towards Lloyd's face, but hesitated and drew it back. His emotions were about to overcome him, and so he let head drop, and soon after, dropped to his knees in sadness, and confusion. He reached his hand out once again. 'Lloyd, please... don't... don't say that...' He said sadly. 'Why do you deny it, father?' The enraged man drew the Vorpal Blade from a sheath at his side, and pointed it at Kratos. Kratos looked up at it, like a beaten dog. 'This isn't you Lloyd... it can't be. Th--this is a dream, isn't it?' _

_Mithos chuckled a bit, seemingly amused at the sight. 'Kratos... You pathetic worm.' He landed with a light step on the ground next to Kratos. 'You blame our feelings on a dream?' Kratos and Mithos exchanged looks. 'You abandoned me, and now your own son finally feels what it's like. So pent up with emotion, that he draws his own blade against you...' Mithos smiled wickedly. 'Against his own tainted flesh and blood.' He starts laughing maniacally. 'This is quite the entertainment, I must say!' Lloyd began walking towards Kratos, seemingly determined to battle his father. 'Don't look away! Face me now Kratos! Face the one you left behind...' He drew his other sword, the Flameberge, and Kratos glanced up at him. 'No... Lloyd...' _

_Lloyd walked right up to Kratos' knelt body and bent down over it. 'I don't need your pity. Get up and draw your weapon.' He whispered sternly. Kratos remained still, and did nothing. 'What's wrong? You've picked fights with me in the past, and now you won't fight me?' He sneered. 'You're pathetic.' He then kicked Kratos in the face, causing Kratos to land on his back. 'Get up now!' ...But Kratos just stayed put. His hand over his face, hiding his pain, and his tears... _

_The sounds of voices in the background and the battle, grew softer for some reason... and the third voice, that of a young woman, finally spoke, but remained hidden. 'Don't Kratos... don't give in to these illusions...' He looked up into the sky and his eyes widened. 'Anna?' He said, almost dumbfounded. 'It can't be...' Kratos's fiancée Anna, appears in front of him in a ghostly form. Smiling warmly, she holds up her hand, as if beckoning to Kratos. 'Rise my love... Face them...' He began to rise, and Anna kept smiling. 'You can do it. You're better than these illusions. You know the truth...' On hands and knees, rain soaked and confused as all hell, Kratos speaks once more... 'Then why does my mind play tricks on me?' He grits his teeth, and closes his eyes in shame. 'What is this? And, if these are indeed illusions, why does my mind allow this?' Mithos's eyes narrow in anger, as do Lloyd's. They stare at Kratos, then at Anna... 'Foolish woman. We are not illusions!' Mithos shouts with rage. _

_Lloyd turns around, and faces the ghostly Anna floating in the air. 'Damn interruptions.' He said with a cold tone of voice. Kratos looks at Lloyd with great surprise as Lloyd's body levitates off of the ground. 'What a nuisance.' He sneers as he speeds towards Anna's body. ...His swords aimed right for her. 'Anna! No!' Kratos shouts as he quickly scurries to his feet, and after Lloyd. 'No! Not again!' He shouts just as Lloyd reaches Anna's body. Anna takes one last look at Kratos. 'This is just a nightmare... You know the truth, so do not fear or grieve over any of this. You've done so much of that already...' She reaches her hand out to Kratos once more. 'Now is the time to redeem yourself...' She said just as the blade of the Flameberge plunges into her ghostly body. '...Farewell my love... We will meet again, someday...' Her body turns into a puff of steam which instantly rises with a curl, and disappears soon after. Kratos floats in the air, shocked once again, and heartbroken. He looks at Lloyd... almost with hatred in his eyes. 'How could you? She was your mother!' Lloyd faces Kratos once again. 'Shut up.' He said. 'My mother was a monster that tried to kill me. You also tried to kill me. I hate you both...' _

_Kratos's head was down, his eyes shadowed by his hair. 'Anna was right. You are no more than mere illusions.' He looks at Lloyd. 'My real son would never do or say what you just did. And you, Mithos--' Mithos looks at him. 'If I betrayed you, you and I would be fighting right now. Just like you wished 20 years ago...' His eyes narrow. 'The end to my very existence. Your own friend and teacher...' _

_Mithos' body began trembling in pure madness. 'Shut up!' He shouts as he rushes towards Kratos in a fit of rage. Lloyd soon joins in, and they were coming in fast from opposite sides--straight for Kratos. Kratos laughs a bit, and as they get close, he simply moves up out of their way... or so he thought. The two move up with him, and soon, their bodies turn into the Flameberge, and the Vorpal Blade. _

_'You shall not escape us!' Mithos, aka, the Vorpal Blade shouts. _

_'You're mine, father.' Lloyd, the flameberge said. _

_Flying around, trying to avoid the weapon, Kratos runs smack into some kind of barrier. 'What in the?' He looks around for an escape, only to find nothing. 'No...' He turns around, only to find the two swords right behind him. _

_'Going somewhere?' Lloyd said. Kratos' eyes widen with fear. _

_'Straight to hell. Good bye Kratos.' Mithos said, emotionless. Kratos looks at the elemental blade right as the two blades cross one another, and plunge right into his body. Just as the Flameberge did to Anna only moments ago... _

_'...No...' He said with a faded whisper..._

The small room were Kratos lie unconscious was dark, and silent that late night. Not so much during that day, since Merlin returned with the news, and a strange book. Raine and the others had gathered with Merlin for a brief moment, promising with more time, they'd talk with him. Especially with everything going on in the village. Zelos and Sheena were up to their chests with problems, and it seemed, it was only getting worse hour by hour.

...The only sound heard this night however, was the rain that fell outside, trickling in a relaxing rhythm, drop after drop as it hit the wet ground. Life had seemed to suddenly grip Kratos' naked body, covered in sheets. His finger moved. Then another, and another. Soon, a tight fist was formed. Next, his eyes seemed to squint, as if afraid of something. Sweat appeared upon his forehead... and his lips began to tremble.

"Anna..." One word spoken, then silence.

It would've been a miracle... had someone been there to witness it.

...Is Kratos coming around...? No one would know now. His body returned to it's previous state soon after. His hand and eyes relaxed, and the sweat would quickly be dried come morning, simply by the damp draft coming into the hut through the small window; which was covered by two small bamboo shutters.

Meanwhile...

"My... my grandfather! That ancient man? No... it... can't be true..." Terra Irving said with a sad whisper to herself, as she unintentionally, reaches an unknown part of the forest--lost in thought. She comes out of thought, and looks around. "Great. Where am I?" She wipes the waterfall of tears from her eyes, and stops walking. "This is just perfect." She said with frustration as she sits on the wet ground, and sighs. "I hear a bunch of crazy B.S. from my parents, and now I'm lost in this damned forest..." She looks around again, a little worried. "Oh well. After I come down with pneumonia, what next?" She chuckles some, but still worried and cautious. Several minutes pass until Terra finally hears what sounds like footsteps in the dirt. Next, she hears the rustling of leaves, and tree branches. "Okay. Zelos, I know that's you. You can come out now." But nothing... She calls again. "Oh come on, grow up! We did this when I was just a kid!" She sighs. "And next, you're gonna jump out from behind a tree, and try to scare me. I know the drill by now." Still nothing... She sighs with irritation. "What the? Come on! I'm not gonna cry or anything. But you can still make it up with ice cream, like you always use to do." And still... nothing... She sighs once again and shakes her head. "Whatever. Be a jackass."

Suddenly lightning strikes nearby, causing Terra to flinch. She glances around for something to get under. She spots a rock, with a small opening at the bottom of it. Just enough for her to squeeze under, at least half way anyway. She starts to walk towards it, when about four alienish creatures jump out of nowhere, and close Terra in. She screams with terror. "Who are you! What are you!" She said all at once, as she looks around frantically, then focusing her attention on the creatures. She begins to think for a moment, and comes to a realization. _'No. It's those things. Those creatures I saw...'_ She snaps out of her brief thought. "What now?" She said with a whisper. The aliens begin to speak something to one another in a strange language. Terra pulls out her wooden blade on instinct. "A-al... alright! C--come and g-g-get me!" She said, as she holds the weapon out in front of her, trying to put up a brave front. One long swipe of a metallic claw breaks the blade in two, and Terra lets go of it in a hurry. She watches as it hits the ground in two pieces, and then reverts her attention back to the creatures. "Crap..." She mutters with overwhelming fear. Her heart beating wildly in her chest, and her adrenaline building quickly.

"It's her." Deadlin said as he ran through the forest, locked on to Terra's scent, and the sound of the recent scream. A sound muffled by the pouring rain, fierce lightning, and slight wind blowing in the trees. "I'm coming... Terra..." He said as he speeds up as fast as his two legs would carry him.

"What is that?" Whispers the catlike Anna, who found herself intrigued by what her nose was picking up as she roamed the wet, dark forest in search of the other one like her. Hearing the sound of a scream, Anna was excited. 'A challenge I hope. I'm bored.' She thought with anticipation, vigorously following the scent.

"It's really coming down out here! A fine time Terra picked to run away!" Genis said with irritation as him and Presea trudged through the forest, looking for Terra. He wiped water off of his face, and glanced around, as Presea chopped a vine tangled between two trees out of their way. "This weather came on fast." She said, avoiding a mud puddle nearby. "Terra will get sick if she doesn't come back." Genis nodded. "I know!" Presea knelt down to the ground, peering at some footprints embedded in some mud. "These are fresh... And they don't look human..." Genis comes to her side, and peers at the footprints too. "No... We have to find her!" Presea grabs his hand, and starts running. "Come on! If we follow these as much as possible, we may find Terra!" Genis shakes his head. "Wait. These'll just wash out in a little while!" She glances around at him. "I know that. Hurry!" He nods again.

There the creatures stood, shrouded by darkness and rain. They circled Terra, seemingly intrigued with the girl. She looks around nervously. "W-what do you want?" She said to them, now weaponless. _'I'd better hold my tongue... I can't defend myself...'_ She thinks to herself for a moment. She moves with them, trying to focus on all of them at once. "I've seen you before..." She said hesitantly. "What are you?" She said with curiosity. The creatures look at one another. They mutter another unrecognizable something. A flashback comes to one of the aliens. A flashback of Terra and Zelos on a Rheaird, coming to the crash site... The creature seems to look surprised, then stares coldly at the young teen. It's eyes narrow, and it speaks to it's comrades. They back up some, and the one alien advances forward... "Get away..." Terra mutters fearfully. The creature holds out it's hands, and extends two of it's three claws. They come at Terra, and pin her around her neck. "Ack!" Terra squeezes out, as she is lifted in the air by her neck. She grabs the claws, and tries to free her self in any way she can, only to end up cutting her hands open on the knife like blades instead. "Oww! Damn!" She cries, releasing the claws. "S-s-some... one... he--help..." She whispers... her breath getting labored as the alien continues to choke the life out of her.

An angry growl resounded through the trees, followed by a ear shattering howl. "P... per... perfect... Bbb... B... Beast!" Shouted Deadlin Draugdu as he jumped out in between the creature and Terra, shattering the long claws which binded Terra in the air. She falls to the ground, landing on her bottom. He reverted back to his half-elven form right after. "G... Get away from her!" The alien jumped back, inspected it's hand, and stared at Deadlin with anger. It shouted a curse in it's own language, and called to it's comrades. "Filthy vermin. Leave her be, or else..." He pulls out his huge broadsword, and Terra looks up at the tall man with shock and amazement. "You..." He glances back for a second. "I told you... I'll protect you, miss Terra." She smiles for a minute, while rubbing her neck with her bloody hands. She coughs and tries to speak. "T--thank... y--you..." He nods his head to her. "Don't try to speak. you're injured. I'll return you to New Mizuho once I get rid of these things..." He focuses his attention back on the pissed aliens. "Disgusting creatures... picking fights with a young girl." The creatures now started inching towards Deadlin and Terra. They extend their claws, and green liquid begins to ooze from their snout like mouths. "I'll distract them lady Terra. Move away!" Deadlin eyes the four aliens. They lunge for him, and he spins, swinging his broad sword at them all at one time. Terra ducks, and scurries for the rock which she spotted earlier. One of the creatures spots her trying to escape and quickly corners her at a tree. "No! Terra!" Deadlin shouts, while fighting off the other three. Terra looks up at the creature fearfully, her eyes widened. She covers her head.

Another growl... this time, that of a large cat. From tree to tree the mysterious creature jumps. It finally lands beside Terra. "So... you are what I heard moments ago." She eyes the aliens. "Didn't know you had this kind of company, little girl." She spots Deadlin, and her eyes widen. "You! Shadow Wolf!" Deadlin turns around for a moment, dropping his guard. "Anna!"

"Grrahhh!" Deadlin shouted as a sharp claw penetrated his chest. Anna jumped in surprise. "Foolish..." She muttered as she leapt towards the creature which stabbed Deadlin. She pounced on it's head, biting and clawing at it with ferocity. The creature struggled to relinquish Anna from it's head. The other two came to help. Anna saw a creature approaching from her left. She bit down hard on her quarry and it turned towards the oncoming creature. Leaping off, the oncoming creature swung claws at Anna, only to miss and hit the injured alien instead. Deadlin pulled his body off of the claw, and jumped out of the way, just as the alien came crashing to the ground. Split like a pea three times over, it was instantly soaked in a strange color of blood. It gurgled for a while within the pool of liquid, then died.

Looking down at it's dead partner, the other three charged at Anna. Deadlin took his broad sword, and tripped one of them. It was all he could do, as he knelt on the ground in severe pain. "Deadlin!" Terra shouted as he started to run towards him. "No! Terra! Stay away!" He shouted. Terra stopped in her tracks, and watched as Anna and Deadlin try to fight off the three remaining monsters... and the situation looking grim for both of them.

Two minutes passed, and both Deadlin and Anna were kneeling on the ground. Deadlin suffering another brutal attack, and Anna's limbs cut and bruised from relentless attacks. "I guess I underestimated these things..." Anna said, kneeling, coughing a bit. Deadlin nods. "Yes. I had not realized these things were so fast... or so strong..." They hung their heads, like beaten animals awaiting what was to come next. Deadlin eyes Terra who is sitting on the ground, in tears once again. "I am sorry Terra... I was not strong enough..."

"Indignation Judgment!" Another voice familiar voice shouted as two people appeared at the scene of battle. The spell zones in on the three remaining alien creatures, and they are instantly blasted to bits as the spells light overtakes them, then the bolt of white light. "Go Presea!" Shouts Genis as he and Presea run in, and surround Terra. Presea heads for the two therianthrope creatures, with her Gaia Cleaver gripped tightly in her hand.

Genis prepared another devastating spell... Presea came ever closer to the two hybrids... "Stop! Don't!" Terra shouted in a hurry. Genis lost his concentration, and Presea stopped in her tracks. They both looked at Terra. "No more..." She said with a whisper. Confused, Presea and Genis eyed one another. "We're getting you out of here Terra. This forest is huge, and even we don't know how far it goes on." He ushers for Presea. "Can you grab those two okay?" She nods, and goes over to them. "Wait... please..." Deadlin mutters with a dull whisper. "Be quiet. Both of you." She clubs Deadlin on his head with the side of her ax, and stares at Anna as Deadlin passes out. Anna stares back, and hisses. Bearing claws and teeth, she tiredly slashes at Presea, who easily dodges every attack. "Humph." She whispers as she clubs Anna. Anna passes out as well, and Terra looks at them with anger. "What did you do that for!" Genis looks down at her. "You had us all worried Terra. How dare you run away for an entire day! Me and Presea went to find you late this morning, and here you are being attacked by God knows what!" Terra looks at Deadlin and Anna as Presea hoists them up on her shoulders, and walks towards Genis. He looks around at the mess within the small clearing under the trees. "You're lucky we found you when we did. These things could've killed you." He looks her over. "And by the looks of things, they almost did."

The rain seems to settle for a bit, and the first sign of a clear night begins to pass through the forest. Some clouds break, revealing the stars and midnight blue sky above. "Lets get back. I'm sure Lloyd and Colette are worried sick about you. And Sheena and Zelos will definitely want to see these creatures."

And with that, the group, with the two captives make their way back to New Mizuho...

**RP #4 - cepussinboots. Posted 1-27-06**

Merlin looked up. 'That book was of use to you then?' Raine , still turning pages in the book, answered 'Yes, i have managed to find some records on Derris Kharlan, about its history'. Everyone stood looking puzzled for a second, and then Zelos spoke up. 'yeah, but isnt it just like a big place with angels on or something... nothing special'. Sheena hit Zelos, and looked him in the eyes 'Zelos, dont be such a snob, theres more to it then that' 'geez, okay...' Zelos said, rubbing his head.   
'What did you find professor?' Lloyd asked Raine, as she continued to scramble through the book. Raine jumped up. 'Aha!' she said. 'here it is, the passage i found, the one of most relevance.' Merlin walked over and peered over Raines shoulder. 'Its written in a foreign language, isnt it...'  
'its angelic' said Colette, who was standing next to Lloyd, yet not far from the book, plus with her advanced sight, she could read. Merlin looked at her 'really?' he said, looking intrigued... 'read the passage Raine' 'okay' raine said, finding the exact part that she wanted to read. 'yet there is one part that i cannot make out, its written in a different language completely.' Lloyd turned to look at Raine 'it doesnt really matter at the moment, we just want to find out what happened to Kratos'  
Again, Merlin looked confused. 'Kratos... who is kratos?' everyone at that point turned around and looked a Merlin. 'are you kidding me?' asked zelos. 'yeah, i thought even you would know who Kratos is' sheena responded.  
Raine started moving her feet around agitated 'look, i need to read this to you, talk about kratos some other time, i want to get this done with'  
'i was just asking...' merlin muttered under his breath. 'look, the passage goes like this:   
_The Ancient City of Derris Kharlan, a home to the angels, a place where they could all live in harmony, a place that was ruled by Mithos Yggdrasill. Of course, that was long ago. we rule Derris Kharlan. A secret system of Government, that was enstated by me. I am Emperor Jtayl (pronounced Tai - Sam) we have ruled over the angels, for over 2000 years now, around 1000 years after the Great War ended, and the great 'Hero' created the city. of course, they never knew we ruled them, as i wrote, it is a secret government, that has let us get in depth information on the city. The resources they get, come from us, how they live, is thanks to us. without us, the city would have collapsed, the world would have collapsed. I write this book, as it has come time for us to attack them. it may take us a further 1000 years to launch this attack, but we shall take over, by force. At the moment, we are getting rid of all contacts, and all sytems we have with Derris Kharlan. as this attack will be surprise, no suspicions will they have, they will lose. the planet WILL be OURS_  
'and thats about it...' raine said finishing up... 'but theres the one last part i cant make out, i dont think its written in our language, or any language ive seen...' Merlin walked over 'thats interesting... let me just... yes, i think if i have a bit of time, i can decipher that last bit of text.' Merlin took the book, and left, to go back to his cabin.  
Lloyd sunk to the floor. 'this... this makes no sense. you would think that Mithos would have realised something...' Colette comforted him. 'I'm sorry lloyd, but its written...' Raine sat down on a chair 'yes, but here is my theory, i think you might understand it a little better when i tell you. you see, i think that Mithos was so bent on trying to rule the two worlds, ánd reviving his sister, that he couldnt stay focused on Derris Kharlan, and this is where my theory on what happened to Kratos kicks in. Kratos is 4000 years old right. Mithos ruled over Derris Kharlan after the great war, 4000 years ago. He ruled for 1000 years, until these people took over, ruled by jtayl. he ruled for 2000 years, wihout anyone knowing, and then he stopped all communications with the planet, and launched an attack on Derris Kharaln, 1000 years later. that adds up to 4000 years. my theory is that he attacked, when Kratos was there, alone. so this is what happened to Kratos. he was attacked by a weird creature, that can speak angelic, called Jtayl.'  
'Dam...' Lloyd said as he punched his fist through the air. 'It always happens to him, doesnt it?'  
'raine, when you say creature, you cant be too sure what this emperor is. he might be an angel... he did write that book in angelic' sheena said, looking at the ground. 'what i want to know is how that book got to earth...' raine said.  
lloyd stood up 'i vow...' he said 'i vow, that i am going to find this Jtayl guy, and i am going to kill him. i am going to kill him, for what he did to my father.'  
and with that, lloyd stormed out of the room, with colette trailing after...

**RP #5 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 1-27-06**

Anna moaned softly as she came to but she felt like she was caged, slowly opening her eyes to only a slit, she saw bars, rising her head but saying nothing as she took in her surroundings of the unfamiliar area in which she was now being kept. Someone spoke softly, turning her head, she just glared at the guard. She noticed Deadin still lying on the floor in the next cage, she made a face and began cleaning her fur and any wounds. She like all cats ignored the people around her, even with them throwing questions at her, she just snorted and continued to clean herself.

: voice Werewolf? I don't think we captured that cursed creature.

: gruff voice I followed the tracks to the fight in the forest. There were two sets of nonhuman feet. Though one looked more like a feline of sorts.

: You must got to the main house to speak with our lord.

: Fine...

There was a sound of feet walking away as if disgusted with the village. Anna glanced over at Deadin, hoping that he was alright thinking it strange that he was still in werewolf form. Looking around she moved to the edge of the cage closet to Deadin, whisptered in elven asking if he was alright.

**RP #6 - Newtype06. Posted 1-28-06**

_You failed, Deadin_, the voice echoed in the darkness. _You failed, and now Terra may be dead._ Deadin felt himself stand, but he could only see darkness. Was he blind? Had his fight with the creatures been that costly? _Of course you're not blind, you fool,_ the voice said again. Deadin called out "Who are you?" The voice called back, _Me? Why, if anyone would know, Deadin Draugdu, you would. After all, we've been together for oh… almost a hundred and seventy five years now._ Deadin shuddered. He knew the relevance of that time, knew exactly what he was doing. He was talking to the Beast, the part of his mind corrupted by his lycanthropy. Deadin shouted at his darker half. "Be gone foul creature! I want no further part in your madness!" And with that, Deadin threw his head back and howled at the nonexistent sky. His howl echoed in the darkness, until finally its pitch transformed into that of a few elven words, saying "Are you alright?"

With a start, Deadin awoke. "Are you all right?" a voice said. _Is it the Beast, again come back to haunt me?_ Deadin pondered. He looked up, and found the brilliant green eyes of Anna, the panther who had helped him. "I am… I'm fine." Deadin sat up, and yelped as his chest throbbed in pain. Aside from commenting to himself on the weakness conveyed in such a sound, Deadin scolded himself at his stupidity in letting an enemy cripple him so easily. Deadin took a moment to survey his surroundings, noting that he was in a sturdily built cage. There was also a guard, but he was looking outside, apparently out towards something, or someone. Deadin propped himself up on one side, and concentrated. An eerie green glow began to flow around him and Anna, finally taking the form of green leaves orbiting their bodies. "Nature's Ardor…" Deadin whispered, and quickly his wounds began to seal, and Anna's cuts were quickly replaced by thin scars. Deadin sighed, and his head fell into his chest. He was tired, despite his period of unconsciousness.

Deadin's thoughts turned to Terra. Had she survived? Was the Beast correct in assuming she had been killed? Deadin banished the thought from his mind. He would never find out if he remained stuck in his cage. He felt around, looking for his broadsword. It was gone. Whoever was holding them here was also intent on keeping them here. He went to the bars of the cage and tested them carefully, not wanting to attract the attention of the guard. The cage was remarkably solid, but Deadin realized that if he concentrated enough power into his perfect beast technique, he might be able to blow a hole out of the framework. Deadin kept his ace hidden up his sleeve, and settled back down when the guard turned back. Deadin decided to play a different card instead.

"Good morning," Deadin said to the guard. "Is it possible for you to send someone to heal my friend?" A bluff, Deadin was banking on the healer being inexperienced enough to need physical contact to heal. However, this conversation was meant to produce a completely different reaction. With each word that left Deadin's mouth, the guard's face grew even more surprised. Werewolves were not supposed to talk. The fact that this one was casually striking up a conversation was incredible. The guard stumbled backwards, flying through the doorway and screaming "Boss!….Boss!" Deadin saw his moment to strike. Drawing upon his inherent elvish power, Deadin summoned his most powerful attack. Deadin knew what he had to do, and knew what would happen to Himself and Anna if he failed. With an unfaltering voice, he cried "Perfect Beast!"

A shockwave burst from Deadin's body, accompanied by a deafening roar. The cages burst like so many matchsticks, and the two fell to the ground. "We must be quick. Someone will have heard that." Deadin quickly reverted to his elven form, and found a billowy cloak for Anna to wear. "We must find Lady Terra, or at least her parents. They will know what to do. Keep this cloak on, and be careful not to reach out for anything. Your hands are still covered in fur, and the cloak won't hide them. Just follow my lead; I don't think we have been moved far." Deadin took a few moments to tear a veil for Anna to hide her face with, and the two stepped out side.

Deadin was correct in assuming they hadn't gone far. In fact, they were still in New Mizuho. The Elf blazed a trail ahead, cutting through the streets. The Panther walked quietly behind, simply shaking her head to any vendor who approached her. Deadin got his bearings, and began walking towards Lady Terra's hut. If she were alive, she'd be there… Deadin rounded the final corner and stopped dead in his tracks. There were no lights on in Terra's house. No one was home. She was…gone. He had failed. The Beast was right. Terra was dead. Deadin sank to his knees, and cried…

Elsewhere…

Terra woke up in a soft bed, squinting in the sunlight that came in through a window. A familiar voice said, "Oh, you are finally awake." Terra's eyes came back into focus, and she saw the familiar faces of Raine Sage, her brother Genis, and Presea. Raine spoke up "These two were so frightened, they brought you straight to me. Naturally, we told your mom and dad, and they came by to see you. I think they were going to come again this morning, just to check up." As if on cue, the sound of a door opening could be heard, and Lloyd and Colette came into the room. Upon seeing Terra, Lloyd sighed and seemed to grow ten years younger. Colette ran forward, asking Terra how she was. As Colette continued to rattle off questions, Terra's mind drifted to her friends that had protected her. Colette was still in the middle of a question when Terra cut her off. "Where's Deadin, and Anna?" Everyone fell silent. Even Colette seemed at a loss for words. A very strange look was on Presea and Genis's faces. Was it realization?

Finally, Lloyd broke the silence. " Deadin? Anna? Who are they?"

**RP #7 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 1-28-06**

Anna fearful of her new surroundings, laid her hand on Deadin's shoulder. She did not know what she should do. Looking around from under the cloak, she listened for any sound that might be familiar. She wondered where the werehunters had gone. She looked at all the new sights and sounds, remaining close to Deadin.  
She suddenly heard a gruff voice that was familiar yet unknown, turning she could see a group of men coming out of the bar arguing that the creatures where not in this town and that they escaped. Her eyes widened... these men thought she was a werecreature not Deadin, she glanced at his as he kneeled crying, but she could hear Terra's voice somewhere within the village, but before she could tell Deadin, an arrow bolt pierced her arm, she roared in pain, turning to face her attackers but only to be blasted with a lighting strike attack sending her about 10 feet away from Deadin, laying there in a heap.  
She laid there for a moment wondering what was going on, visions of the past flew through her head from the village that was in her forest, she slowly rose, her right arm hanging limply as she looked at those who attacked her, she did not move or make a sound.

**RP #8 - Newtype06. Posted 1-29-06**

"Enough…" Deadin whispered. "I'm tired, and I've had enough." The Elf looked up at the three hunters who had assaulted Anna. He got up, eyes burning with hatred. Everything was going wrong. Terra was dead, Anna was wounded again, and these bastards hated him simply for what he was. Deadin was enraged. It was an anger he had never felt before. Even the Beast, still prowling in the back of his mind, cowered before this newfound fury. The hunters looked at Deadin and blinked, as if noticing him for the first time. One of them carried a crossbow, another, Deadin's broadsword, and the last was unarmed. It seemed the last one was a spell caster. All three of them wore werewolf scalps on their armor, proof of their prowess. However, none of them had ever met an elven werewolf.

Deadin stormed forward, hands balled into fists. The crossbow-toting hunter reloaded his weapon, then yelled at Deadin "Hey, chump! Get out of the way! Can't you see you're interfering!" Deadin continued walking towards him and grinned sadistically, bearing his somewhat wolfish teeth. The hunter lowered his weapon and stared at Deadin. "What the He-" was all he got out. With a scream of rage, Deadin punched him full on in the face, cracking his nose. The crossbowman fell on his back, knocked unconscious. Deadin wheeled about, this time targeting the hunter who had taken his sword. The hunter pulled it from a sheath at his belt, and held the broadsword high, obviously intent on bringing it down on Deadin's head. Deadin reached up, and grabbed his enemy's wrists mid-strike. The two wrestled for control over the blade. Deadin looked to his right, and saw the spell caster moving his hands and chanting. A fiery red glow emanated from his fingertips. Deadin had to think quickly, if he wanted to survive. However, the answer to his dilemma came not from his mind, but from his friend. Lurking behind the spell caster, ready to pounce from the shadows, was Anna. She cast off the billowy cloak, and carefully pulled the bolt from her arm. Deadin saw her claws extend, and Anna's back arched in preparation.

With a roar, Anna leapt at the spell caster. Concentration broken, the spell caster held up his arms to shield his face from Anna's furious swipes. Red lines of blood appeared on his forearms and chest amidst tattered robes, until finally the hunter fell on his back. Anna pinned him to the ground, eyes maliciously glued to his jugular. The spell caster whimpered, and quivered under Anna's claws.

The final hunter was locked in struggle with Deadin. Judging from the number of scalps he toted, he had killed many werewolves in his time. As the two neared each other, grunting from the exertion, the hunter spoke. "Just who the Hell are you?" Deadin smiled as he responded. "I am the Elf, and the Beast, two worlds made one!" And with another scream of rage, Deadin head butted the hunter. His grip slacked, and Deadin tore the sword away. The blade seemed to sing in the hands of its true master. Deadin held the blade laterally, pointing it at the Hunter. The defeated hunter held his hands up, and glared at Deadin. "You'll pay for this!"

Another voice responded. "You know, that line is really clichéd." Deadin turned around, and was face to face with Lloyd Irving.

Deadin sank to his knees. "I'm…sorry, Master Irving. I failed to protect your daughter." Lloyd looked at Deadin inquisitively, and said "Huh? Oh, you must be Deadin. Terra told us about you." Deadin looked up at the red-clad man, mouth wide open. "Us? Terra? But how?" Another voice responded, this time behind Anna. "Well, after we gave you to the hunters, we figured that was that, but Terra told us everything that happened last night." Stepping out of the shadows behind Anna was a dark haired woman, possibly in her thirties. Lloyd nodded. "Yep, and after we found out, we got Sheena here to track the hunters, and to spring you lose. But…It looks like you didn't need our help." Deadin stood, and looked Lloyd in the eye. "So Terra is alright?" Lloyd nodded. Deadin sighed, "I guess she told you about my…" Deadin struggled for the right word. "…affliction, didn't she?" Lloyd again nodded. Deadin looked down at the ground between himself and Lloyd. "May I…see Terra?" Lloyd smiled, and scratched the back of his head. "Jeez, you don't have to be so serious about it! Of course you can go talk to her! Yikes, man!" Lloyd laughed, and Deadin found himself laughing with him. Anna relinquished her hold on the spell caster, and came over to Deadin. Lloyd looked at Anna, and said "And you must be Anna. Terra told me about you, too. You are also welcome to come with us." Anna seemed a tad confused at first, but after a reassuring gaze from Deadin she made up her mind to follow him. Then Sheena, Lloyd, Deadin, and Anna walked off towards Raine's hut, and towards a new beginning.

**RP #9 - cepussinboots. Posted 1-30-06**

Usof looked up. 'she looks so peaceful'  
Quandys pain was definate. you could see in his eyes how sad he was, how he just wanted to cry, but he couldnt. he has no soul 'alex...' Quandy said, looking down on her body.  
Usof walked over to Quandy, and patted him on the shoulder. 'I'm sorry big guy' he whispered 'she meant alot to both of us'  
Quandy placed her body down in the hole they had dug for her, and covered her body up with dirt. He then placed the grave stone he lay down. Quandy looked up at the sky, he could see her face in the clouds. He sunk to his knees. 'it didnt have to be this way...' he yelled 'i could have done something'  
being unable to cry is something everyone fears. Quandy was unable to, how he wanted to so much, how he wanted to feel sad... he could say these things, but he couldnt feel them... even if he wanted to Usof sat down next to Quandy 'youve got to let her go, move on in your life, you know?'  
'i cant, not now. not after all ive done' Quandy replied, still looking at the floor.  
'yes you can Quandy, you can do it, just, go out there' Usof pointed Quandys head in the direction of the sea. 'go out there, and find a new land, somewhere to start anew'  
Quandy lowered his head again 'and what about you?' he asked 'what would you do? i cant leave you by yourself' Usof chuckled 'same old quandy, look im the King of Thieves, im sure i could find something to do!' Quandy stood up, and walked over to the water, and touched it with his hand. 'Water...' he whispered 'the sea...' he sunk to his knees again 'WHY CANT I FEEL SAD' he yelled angrily, although he couldnt feel anger. Quandys life was a misery to live, by giving up his soul, he gave up most emotions.  
Usof walked over to the bay, next to Quandy 'i've got horses arriving in 10 minutes, one for you, one for me. you can do this Quandy, dont follow me, find new lands, free yourself'  
'i... i cant' Quandy muttered.

The horses arrived on schedule, and Usof mounted his. 'Quandy, see you pal. its been good, you'll always be in my heart, i hope we meet again someday' and with that, Usof galloped off, not to be seen by Quandy, or probably anyone again. Life was hard as the King of Thieves.

Alone... thats what Quandy was now. Alone, with noone with him, except the horse. Quandy stood up after a while. It was sunset, and the horse was getting restless. He walked over to the horse, and mounted it. 'meditation... levitation' he yelled, and with those words, the horse galloped off into the sea, but was able to walk across the water, as this is what that certain spell did to you.  
Many weeks passed, galloping on water, and over new lands. nowhere did Quandy find he wanted to go, until he reached a new place, one he had not seen before. Quandy stopped in a nearby village, and dismounted his horse. He walked over to a villager. 'where am i?' he asked in no particular tone of voice.  
the person looked up at the tall man and said quickly 'Ozette, this is Ozette'  
Quandy looked around. this looked a nice place to settle down in. 'what is this country called though?' he asked the same man  
'your weird.' came the mans answer. 'we are in the new regenerated world a joint world of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant.'  
'interesting' quandy suggested, and he lead his horse to a nearby stables. he went into the inn. 'excuse me, but, is it possible for me to buy this inn?' he asked the keeper.  
the keeper looked up, shocked 'excuse me?. you want to purchase my inn?'  
'thats what i asked' Quandy said calmly. 'i have 500,000 gald, that enough?'  
the innkeeper jumped up and down excitedly, and within seconds had handed Quandy the keys, and ran off 'well that was easy' Quandy said, and went to check the place out.  
Days passed, and Quandy enjoyed his new life, working in New Ozette, in his own little inn! but he knew there was something missing. he needed a new adventure, something to do. if only there would be something that would come along sometime soon... he needed to go out exploring the rest of this strange world. Quandy then said to himelf. 'heh, i wouldnt have thought that this is where id be, after the life id just had!


	7. War

**RP #11 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 1-30-06**

As she floated hear the shoreline, she searched for a sign of a town near the water, she hated traveling alone in the vast ocean, maybe someone in town could help her. Rising up and moving quickly toward the beach, the mermaid began to change as she came closer to land. At the very edge when she could no longer swin, her fins shifted to legs, she stood for a moment to get her bearings, then proceeded to the only town she saw for miles around. A man in strange garb stood at the entrance barring her way...

: Please let me in.

Anna while playing with Noishe turned noticing the strange fish smell coming from the entrance of New Mizuho. Turning, she walked over just out of sight to see what looked to be a bluish green humanoid as Noishe tilted head in wonder to who this strange creature could be.

**RP #12 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 2-3-06**

Anna's attention was drawn from the strange being by Noishe's whine, she turned to look at him, then her ears picked up something. Instead of asking what was wrong like the humans' would, she responded by running, croaching, and springing up to the roof of one of the houses, landing gracefully though it wouldn't have sounded like that from the inside. She moved swiftly to the peak of the roof and listened to the sounds of the animals of the forest and glade, warning of danger, she wasn't sure if the enpending danger would be hour or even days away, as the creatures called out warning of something coming or even if it would affect the village. Her ears and eyes moved as she searched for what was causing the animals to cry out warning of danger and what had caused Noishe to flee, her animal instincts told her to flee and hide, but she knew that she needed to give warning even if the humans wouldn't listen to her, then she thought of Deadin, he may head her warning but she had to get into the enclosed structure.

Meanwhile, Venim stood at the entrence of the town, saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She saw a large black form move quickly away, she excused herself and moved away from the town, she looked up to see a humanoid panther on the roof of one of the buildings. She noticed the stance of the creature listening, like that of one of the forest, like a friend she had long ago before. She knew that she would be needed if there was something happening but she would until then stay out of the way.

**RP #13 - AngelicAura616. Posted 2-4-06**

_Aaron had been bored working at the HQ lately. Nothing interesting had happened. He had received his testing results, and of course, passed. There were some new trainees in the recruitment agency from testing, as well. Other than that, everything seemed silent. _

_After leaving work, he went to the Sage home to clean, since it had been unoccupied for some time. Terra, Colette, and Lloyd were still gone too. He was wondering whether Genis had married Presea or not, and how Raine was doing. The only news he'd gotten recently from that area was that a girl was attacked by two creatures of some sort. He had been worried for some time if that girl was Terra. Aaron also wondered if that man that fell from the sky was awake or not, and who he was. _

"This place just seems so lifeless without those two…" Aaron told nobody.

He looked around, and nothing seemed to be colorful anymore. It was just plain.

"What's become of those two? I wish I could get out of work to go see them, but the HQ seems reluctant to let anybody travel anymore." Aaron thought.

Aaron left the house, locking it on the way out. He planned on going to the woods to practice some fighting techniques, but decided he should go back to work for a little. It seemed quite pointless, but he was bored, and wanted to relax a little. Once again changing his mind, he decided to go to the ocean for a swim.

When he arrived, he dove straight in. The ocean felt relaxing to his muscles. He used magic on the water to make little jets come up out of the water. He also practiced Genis' Spread spell. He dove down under water, and began swimming back to shore, with a current pushing him towards it. He opened his eyes briefly, and saw a gold glimmer behind him. A voice quietly said "Beware…"

He turned around, but saw nothing. He pushed it off as his imagination playing tricks on him.

He dried himself off after getting out of the water, and went back to the HQ. He went into the employee lounge, and grabbed a bowl of curry. He started hearing cannons from a distance.

"What the…?" Aaron wondered.

Suddenly, a man came screaming down the hallway.

"Code Yellow! It's the Palmacosta Navy!" he was saying.

_Of course, during the travels of Lloyd and his companions, Palmacosta was destroyed when the Great Seed germinated, causing the Giant Kharlan Tree to sprout. But, in 20 years, Palmacosta had rebuilt and expanded into a great empire. They made a treaty with Asgard, and the area became known as Iunctura. They built a great navy, and obtained the also renovated Thoda Island, as well as Balacruf Island. They then took over the sea between Thoda Island and the Temple of Earth, in turn conquering Sybak. They failed at pushing through the Gaorocchia Forest, though, and that is where their empire stopped stretching. _

"Why would Palmacosta attack? Are they trying to take over this area too?" Aaron exclaimed.

He ran out of the building, and saw the sea lined with giant warships.

"This isn't good," Aaron whispered, "We'll never live. I need to contact Triet, and New Mizuho... Soldiers!"

Aaron turned to the gathering army.

"Hide behind anything you can, and hold them where they are. I'm getting reinforcements!"

Aaron ran into the hangar of the HQ, and got on his Rheiard. He took off, towards Triet. He probably looked like a traitor, running away from the battle. He didn't care though; they'd know he wasn't a traitor when he brought back-up. He arrived in Triet, and immediately ran to the mayor's house. He was intercepted by a guard.

"What do you need?" the guard asked.

"Let me in! I need to speak with the mayor!" Aaron yelled, trying to get around.

"The mayor is unavailable. I'm sorry…you'll have to come back another time."

"Why didn't you say that right off the bat? Wasting my time..."

Aaron turned away. He had to speak to somebody. Then he remembered the War General might be able to help. He ran for the HQ there. He asked the receptionist at the front where the War General was.

"Third floor, 3rd hall, 5th room," she replied.

"Thanks," Aaron said, running to the staircase.

"Third floor…"

He left the staircase after reaching the third floor.

"Third hall..."

He ran down three hallways.

"Fifth room…"

He counted to the fifth room, and discovered, there was no fifth room. He then realized he'd counted the bottom floor as a 1st floor, when it was actually not counted in the stories of the HQ. He ran quickly for the staircase again, and went up another floor, went down the third hallway, and found the 5th door. Running in, he managed to frighten the War General.

"What is it?" the War General asked.

"Palmacosta…ships….Iselia…" Aaron panted.

"What..?"

"Palmacosta's navy fleet is attacking Iselia!"

"Oh, that…"

"What! You mean you knew!"

"Of course we knew. We heard you'd sent some odd creatures to attack Palmacosta, and they wanted revenge. We had felt that you knew what you did, and felt no need to communicate to y-"

"Wait, we sent monsters to attack them? That's nonsense! We did no such thing!"

"Don't try to fool me. We're not helping traitors. You knew the consequences of your actions." the General stated, in a dignified tone.

"You're calling US traitors? You ignorant hypocrite!"

"How dare you…Get out! NOW! Consider the contract broken!"

"Whatever! Don't ask Iselia for any favors later on, when Palmacosta, or some other place turns upon you as easy prey!"

Aaron ran out of the room. He had to get to New Mizuho. They were his only chance at back-up. Getting onto his Rheiard, he flew to the city where his friends were. They couldn't betray him at least.

He looked down as came near New Mizuho. He could see nobody in the streets.

"What's going on?" Aaron questioned.

He landed quickly and ran among the buildings, trying to find people. He finally found Sheena and Zelos inside of a hut. He burst in.

"Sheena! Zelos!"

"Whoa, Aaron! Long time no see. What's the big deal? Happy to see us?" Zelos asked.

"Iselia is in trouble! We need back-up! Palmacosta has launched a surprise attack with their navy! They thought we sent some monsters upon them to destroy their city."

"Wait, are you serious?" Sheena asked.

"Would I make this up?" Aaron asked.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't. Alright, Zelos, round up the men. I'll get the others. We're going to help save Iselia."

Aaron sighed with relief and hugged Sheena.

"Thank you so much! Triet has betrayed us. They took sides with Palmacosta."

"I'll need to contact New Ozette as well then. We're fighting two very capable armies."

Aaron ran out, and headed out to Iselia to join in the battle.

still in New Mizuho

"Sheena, do you really think our army stands a chance against Palmacosta?" Zelos asked.

"I think we might. He came to us in need of help…we're going to give it to him. I'm sure our men can help somehow." Sheena replied.

The day stretched on with preparations for battle in New Mizuho. They had spread word to every life from New Ozette to New Mizuho. Even Raine, Genis, Presea, Terra, Lloyd, Colette, and other newcomers had requested to join in the battle. They were having a pre-war strategy planning session with the warriors.

"We should get some water control. If we want to win, we need to be able to have some control of the oceans."

"How are we going to do that? We haven't got any ships." a man questioned.

A voice rang out in the group of warriors.

"I think I know how." a girl, who appeared to be in her late teenage years, said.

"And how is that?" Sheena asked.

"The mermaid colonies." she answered.

"You mean they exist?" Raine exclaimed.

"Not now, Raine!" Genis demanded.

"Yes, they do exist. In fact…I am one of them."

"But don't mermaids have flippers? I didn't think they had feet." Lloyd told.

"Well, I transform into one. Only a small portion of mermaids can do so."

"Wow, that's so cool!" Colette cheered.

"Thanks… So, do you want me to return home overnight and ask the king of our village?"

"That would be great!" Sheena said.

"Alright. I should leave now if I want to make it back in time for the journey to Iselia."

"You're dismissed, then, Miss…" Zelos told.

"You can call me Vanim. I'll be back in the morning."

She left.

"Well, then, let's get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day." Zelos told.

The soldiers slowly left the large clearing they were in.

returning to Iselia, at the time that Aaron returned

Aaron ran into the HQ. He had to find the War General of Iselia, and alert him about Triet. Thankfully, he knew where the office was.

"Sir!" Aaron saluted.

"What is it, Sage?" the War General of Iselia replied.

"Triet has turned their back on us. I went to them to get reinforcements, and the War General said they've taken sides with Palmacosta. Also, Palmacosta claims we sent monsters at them to destroy their city. You didn't really do this, did you?"

"Of course not. Why would we disturb a greater empire than ours? That would be idiotic! But, nonetheless, we now have no city to help us. We're alone. We will eventually fall. The Palmacosta Navy is the greatest in the world!"

"Thank you, Sir. I didn't think you would have done so. Anyway, you're wrong about us being alone. I contacted New Mizuho. They are sending their army to come fight alongside us."

"Very good, Sage. I knew you'd think of something. Now, get out there and lead our men to a victory!"

"Yes, SIR!"

Aaron went to the battlefield, turned to his men, and demanded that they cast Spread near the shore. The ships were closing in, and fast. If they reached land, Iselia wouldn't stand a chance.

"SPREAD!" shouted about 350 voices.

A huge tidal wave blew up in front of the ships, pushing them out of control, and far back into the sea. But, they were still firing, and continued their pursuit to land.

"Just keep doing that. I'll give the signal, and you cast. Got it?"

"Yes, Sir!"

Aaron waited until they were close.

"Now!"

"SPREAD!"

The same effect happened on the ships. Aaron wondered when they would catch on, and start firing spells from a distance.

"Why couldn't today be a rainy day..?" Aaron sighed.

He knew that if it rained, he'd be able to destroy those ships in a heartbeat. They just held up their resistance until they gave up their attack, which didn't happen until late at night.

New Mizuho, 1 A.M.

"Everybody, calm down!" screamed Zelos, on the street.

All the people of Mizuho were frenzying. The village was being burnt down. Cots were on fire, and alien-like creatures were attacking the city.

"It's those things from before!" yelled Sheena.

"This isn't good…we have to keep our army here!" Zelos told.

"No, we promised!" Sheena exclaimed.

"But, our city comes first. They'd understand, I'm sure!"

"I'm sending soldiers, Zelos! And, unfortunately, I have more word than you!"

"Fine, let our city burn to a crisp, and our people die!" Zelos sarcastically stated.

"That's not going to happen. All soldiers, defend our city! All citizens, retreat from the city, now!" replied Sheena, without catching the sarcasm.

After about 20 minutes, the city had been evacuated of all citizens. The alien-like creatures were still attacking. The citizens couldn't stand to see their city become nothing. They began to grab weapons of any type they could, and charged into battle.

"No! No! Don't do that!" Sheena demanded.

There was no stopping them, though.

"You stay here, and fight with the men. Keep our city alive. I'm going to gather soldiers together from here and New Ozette, and we're running to Iselia tonight. When that girl, Vanim, returns, send her to Iselia. I know you can do it. Don't let the city down. Protect them. They're depending on you." Sheena explained.

"But-" Zelos started.

"No 'buts.' Just do it. I promise I'll come back alive." Sheena interjected.

"Alright. I trust you. Good luck." Zelos quietly said.

They kissed farewell. Sheena ran among the soldiers, pulling them aside. She also beckoned Lloyd, Genis, Raine, and Colette to go with her, to defend their own home. As well, she asked Presea if there were more soldiers in New Ozette. After thinking, Presea said yes, and that Sheena could take them to fight off Palmacosta. She thanked Presea, and ran to New Ozette.

**RP #14 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 2-4-06**

As Vanim swam to the depths of the ocean towards one of the few cities below the ocean, she wondered if the merfolk below would help... she could call forth the temple guards if the King choise not to help the surface dwellers. As she neared the city, she was greeted by the younger priests and priestesses of the temple, instead of going directly to the king, she went to her temple. She made her presence known to her goddess requesting assistance for the landwellers that she had befriended, the image of the goddess appeared before her.

Fond: What are these humans to you, priestess?

Vanim: I had just met them, my lady.

Fond: smiles So Zelos has made an empression on you?

Vanim: with a glare That red headed... changes subject Mi'lady... there are many innocent lives at stake...

Fond: laughs I will do this for you... to give you enough time to speak with the king.

As she fades the ocean above begans to boil as the skies become darkly overcast as sinister clouds roll in as winds begin to rise and howl blowing from the land toward the ships. Vanim thanks her goddess then goes to speak with the king hoping that he will send aid. Meanwhile above the ocean the storm stops just short of the land though it seems to be bellowing up from the water itself. The ships roll precariously as the wind drives them from the shore. Fond hears someone complining about being cut of from the magic of the storm, appearing beside the young wizard, she looks out toward the ships.

**RP #15 - Newtype06. Posted 2-4-06**

Anna had left. Somehow, the room seemed to contract in on Deadin. It was odd, how he had become attached to the feline woman over the past few days. It was strange seeing another person like him walking around. Deadin shook his feeling of lonesomeness, and concentrated instead on listening to Master Irving. The two had been talking for quite some time now, often on topics that Deadin had little understanding in. Eventually they fell upon the topic of Kratos, and Lloyd seemed unusually evasive. Lloyd gave Deadin the watered down version of his history with Kratos, leaving out the…details.

Deadin learned that the old man he saw at the crash site had found a book, and that the book described evil beings that lived beyond the stars. Deadin listened intently, finally coming to the conclusion that the creatures who attacked Lady Terra were the aliens Lloyd spoke of, led by the being known as Jatyl.

Sheena, the woman who had somehow tracked Deadin up to the point where he fought the Hunters, left the room to go grab a pot of tea. She grumbled something under her breath as the high-pitched squeal interrupted Lloyd. Deadin took this moment of relative isolation with Lloyd to ask him a serious question. Deadin leaned forward, and said, "I have another favor to ask you. Terra was very brave when she was corned by those things in the forest. However, I can sense things are going to escalate, and I feel that protecting her will be difficult if she possesses only a rudimentary knowledge of swordplay. I would ask that you allow me not only to continue my services as her bodyguard, but to instruct her in the ways of the sword." Deadin leaned back, and let Lloyd think on Deadin's offer. Somewhere in the back of the room, Deadin heard water splash and a muffled voice say "OW! Damn…" and then go back to grumbling. Sheena finally came back out, awkwardly carrying three cups of tea.

She set one down before Deadin, and gave one to Lloyd. Deadin took a sip, but quickly recoiled back from the cup, tongue crying out at his stupidity. Sheena laughed, "Yeah, it's really hot. So where exactly were we?" Lloyd set his cup down, eying it cautiously. Lloyd leaned forward, resting his chin upon his hands, and looked Deadin in the eye. "We were at the part I trust Deadin, and he proves he's worthy of it." The two swordsmen locked eyes, and Lloyd nodded slowly. Sheena seemed puzzled, but nevertheless maintained her composure. Deadin rose his cup to Lloyd, and took a careful sip.

**RP #16 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 2-4-06**

While swinging down and landing on top of a soldier, grabbing his shoulders and she flipped him to the ground, Anna severed the main artery in the neck with her claws, as she leaped for her next victim, barely clearing a sword that was swung at her as she bit into the neck of another creature that was sneaking up on Deadin and was away before he had realized it. And vanished into whatever darkness there was to catch her breath for a moment and to pounce on her next intented victim.  
She could see many of the humans in this village could defend themselves, that for which she was glad. She returned to Zelos' side but only briefly before vanishing into the forest to see if she could find some help from the creatures like herself. She hoped that the Queen would agree to help, and she thought of Deadin as she vanished out of sight, she liked him and wondered if he really liked her as well, he maybe a werewolf but he was nice... unless angered.

**RP #17 - Newtype06. Posted 2-5-06**

Needless to say, Deadin was angry. He had found solace in New Mizuho, and these Tarivians dared to interrupt it. Throwing caution and discretion to the wind, Deadin transformed to his hybrid form in the town square. He reached back for his broadsword, and prepared to fight. He knew the Tarivians strength. He had fallen to several of them before. But not this time. This time, the Tarivians would taste his blade, and he would live to see the life die out in their eyes. Deadin howled at the moon, and charged.

The first Tarivian Deadin encountered he caught unawares. The alien stood at a flaming house, and was happily stoking the flames. Deadin slid in behind him, and cut the back of his legs with his broadsword. The shocked Tarivian fell to his knees. Deadin screamed "Eviscerate!" and with a lunge tore the alien's throat out with his powerful jaws. His maw coated in purple gore, Deadin moved on.

_Where was Lady Terra?_ Deadin's thoughts returned to his charge as he gutted one more Tarivian. This one made the mistake of overextending on one of its attacks. Deadin wheeled up, and split its belly. These creatures were deadly fast, but Deadin moved like a creature possessed. Little did he know, but slowly he was becoming one.

Lingering in the back of his mind, the Beast paced carefully, waiting for its moment to strike. As Deadin's thoughts turned to Terra, the Beast pounced. The bloodletting, the screams of combat, the ever-present smell of blood triggered something. For once, Deadin Draugdu was powerless to stop the Beast. His demonic alter ego pushed him aside, and seized control. Before he totally lost himself, Deadin's last thought was a pleading hope that no one dear to him was caught in the Beast's path.

Even with the sentient side of him restrained, Deadin was still formidable. Tarivians noticed the hybrid beast slaughtering their own, and moved in to fight him. The Beast, for all it's insanity, was on a level of combat Deadin could only dream of. It did not have to deal with human emotions like fear or pity. It killed, it feasted, and then it killed some more. One Tarivian swung its claws at the Beast. He parried with his sword, deflecting the strike towards his right shoulder. With his left hand, he punched towards his foe's face, claws outstretched. The Beast's middle and forefinger hit home, punching right through the Tarivian's eyes. The Beast ripped back, letting the Tarivian bleed to death, blind.

Arms and fangs coated in purple entrails, the Beast howled at the moon. It was a beautiful night for a bite…

The Beast ran further, taking cheap shots at every Tarivian he passed, finishing them with a quick bite to the neck. Two of them noticed his rampage, and moved in to stop him. They regretted it instantly. The first Tarivian jabbed with his claws, but the Beast batted them aside easily. With a howl, the Beast flicked his broadsword and severed the Tarivian's arm just above the elbow. The Tarivian looked at the stump in shock, and then looked back up in time to see the shaggy wolf man pounce on him. The Beast tore at his face, finally letting go when the gurgling screams stopped. The Beast reared up, facing the other Tarivian. The alien glared at the Beast, claws at the ready.

The Tarivian lunged, and with a lightning fast strike pierced the Beast's shoulder. It didn't care. The Beast realized that with the blade in his shoulder, the Tarivian could not run or evade his attacks. The Beast thrusted with his broadsword, and the Tarivian died instantly.

Somewhere, back in the recesses of the Beast's mind, Deadin Draugdu fought back. Clinging to the fear that the Beast might find Terra, Deadin chiseled away at the mental defenses the Beast put up. Slowly, very slowly, Deadin fought to regain control.

**RP #18 - White Rose. Posted 2-5-06**

"Dad! Daddy! Where are you!" Terra screamed as she panicked in the middle of the chaos of New Mizuho, which was now in flames. Some citizens who had not yet fleed the village were making their way towards the entrance, carrying what appeared to be important things. Some also sported weapons. Swords, Katana's, bo's, Shurikens, magical cards, etc. As Terra was scanning the village, keeping watch over the citizens who were dashing away from the chaos on both sides of her with haste, she ran headlong into a man who was going in the opposite direction of her. Bumping into one another, Terra fell to the ground, and the man simply got up, and ran over her in a fright. "Daddy!" She called again, as she was being trampled on by more and more people. The village was in total chaos. Not only from the attacks of militant countries fighting to claim New Mizuho as their own, but also by the strange alien creatures who seemed to find pleasure in causing havoc for no apparant reason. At least one she couldn't think of at the moment. Perhaps it was of the fact that one of their own had been slaughtered so brutally only a day ago, under the rain of a cloudy, foggy night in the forest. Perhaps they were looking for something... Terra didn't know, she didn't care. All she knew, was that she was scared, and her father, her friends, and even Deadin were nowhere to be found.

The roof of a buiding collapsed next to Terra, and she screamed. The flames were intensive, despite what the few Mizuhoen guards were trying to do to quell them. Cinders started to drizzle through the air, torching the small plants and bonzi gardens that grew nearby. As the last of the citizens finally left the village, Terra was all alone--standing amongst a wall of fire. As she sat trembling on the inside, she scanned everything in sight. "Sheena, Zelos! Dad!" She called out once more with worry, not knowing if they even made it out alive. As Terra continued to look around, she heard the faint sound of a small child in the distance... "No..." She said as she raised her head, devoting her attention to the sound once again.

A cry this time. And this time, much louder. More like a scream. Terra turned her attention to the sound's direction and dashed through the flames that surrounded her. Running to where the sound was, she eventually came to a building, half burned by the fire, filled with smoke. So much so, it was seeping though even the smallest crack, and so thick, it was making her eyes water. "Where are you!" She called to the child. A response came back in the form of another scream, and Terra looked up at one of the windows. "I'm coming! Hold on!" She shouted up towards the window, the child hidden from view. Terra masked her mouth with the sleeve of her tunic and ran into the building. Not really thinking of her actions, she was soon engulfed in flames and smoke. Coughing, and straining to see through watery, red eyes, she ran through the fairly large building. As fire continued to burn the house, a support beam began to creak and crone from the power of the fire that burned it. She narrowly escaped as a chunk of it fell into the inferno, causing the house to lean. Terra made her way up the stairs, her coughing growing more severe with each minute. Coming to a closed door, Terra kicked it in with force, causing it to come off of a hinge. Just enough to for her to get inside. She strained once more to look around the room, and finally caught sight of the small child. A little boy that she just so happened to recognize from coming to the village so much during her travels as her father's delivery aid. "Kashi! No!" She shouted with a studder. She coughed again soon after, and wiped her eyes. She grabbed the kid and started to make her way back to the door. As she went to the steps, the flames had taken their toll. The steps were no longer accessible, and the house was on the verge of collapse. She made her way back to the window and looked out. It was about a three story drop, but she didn't have much of a choice at this point. Braving the fall, Terra stepped back some, and ran for the window, and leapt out of it.

Crashing to hard ground below, she rolled to her side, losing Kashi in the process. He rolled a few times along the ground, before landing in a patch of grass. "Ow..." Terra muttered as she tried to get back up. "Damn it... I must've landed wrong..." She felt her foot, and realized it was sprained just a bit. She laughed at herself for a moment. "I just ran into a burning house. What in hell?" She looked over at Kashi, who was unconscious from over inhaling too much smoke. "Kashi!" She shouted, as she limped over to the boy. "I'll save you!" She rolled the boy onto his back, and began mouth to mouth resuscitation on him, hoping that the boy was still alive. Who knows how long he was trapped...

Meanwhile...

"We have to get my dad out of here, now!" Lloyd shouted as he and Colette had split from the others, with Kratos in Lloyd's arms. "Ugh... he's heavy. I can't keep this up! We've gotta hide!" Lloyd shouted to Colette as she was busy fighting off a group of the alien like creatures who were persistantly following them as they ran through the nearby forest, trying to hide from the chaos. As they continued to run, Colette tripped on a branch. She fell to the ground, and was quickly surrounded by the strange beings. Lloyd looked back to call to Colette, as he spotted an opening under a fairly big tree. "Collette, this--NO!" He shouted with fear as he placed Kratos on the ground, and ran to Colette's side, with his Kusangi Blades drawn and ready. "Damn you! Get away from her!" He shouted as he ran head long into the group, instantly stabbing an alien through the chest with fierocity, killing it in one precise strike. One of the creatures out of the group of eight went to slash at Colette, and Lloyd dove on top of her, taking a severe lash to his back. "Gahh!" He shouted as another creature extended it's sharp, knife like blades from it's fingers, and with two of them, took Lloyd up by the neck, choaking him like they did with Terra. They were obviously pissed at the attack against them. "No! Ack! Da... dammit!" He shouted, struggling to free himself, as the other six closed in on the helpless man. "Lloyd! No!" Colette shouted as she squeezed out from under him, and stood up. "Ring Cyclone!" She shouted as she spun around with her Angel Halo chakrams in hand, swiping at all seven creatures at once, and freeing Lloyd from his neck hold. The creatures backed away some in surprise. "Grand Chariot!" she shouted once again as a circle of light and lightning surrounded her, striking two of the seven remaining creatures. With all of the creatures left stunned, Colette grabbed Lloyd's arm and began to run for the cover of the tree. She placed the bleeding Lloyd inside of it, handed him a Lemon Gel to eat for now, and went back for Kratos. "No!" She shouted as Kratos was now surrounded by the aliens. She stood in place for a moment, closed her eyes, and clasped her hands. "You will not take him!" She said with force. The creatures eyed her momentarily. "I will not feel sorry for this." She said with more of whisper this time. "I don't know what you things are, but you almost took my daughter. You will NOT take her grandfather!" The rest of the aliens extended their claws, and started to make way towards Colette. She opened her eyes back up...

"Judgement!"

Beams of light soon rained down upon the section of forest where they stood. As the aliens looked on in what seemed like a troubled expression, a huge beam of light struck the small group, and all were instantly obliterated by the powerful angelic skill. The corpses incinerated with in the beams, and soon exploded, sending remains showering everywhere. Lloyd looked on in amazement at the strength of Colette's Judgement skill. She might as well have handled the battle herself... or so he thought anyway. Soon, Colette fell to her knees, obviously exhausted from the tremendous amount of strength casting Judgement just took out of her. As she sat breathing hard, the sounds of another group of aliens were heard through the forest, closing in on our heroes. It was obvious they were alerted to the recent flashes of light seen within the forest. "No... Colette, get out of there!" Colette looked back at Lloyd, and then reverted her attention overhead, as the first line of aliens appeared above the trees. "Uh-oh... Not good..."

_'This place... I've seen it before..._' Saids a man as he lie on ground, engulfed in darkness on all sides of him. He peered up into white light... _'Is this... heaven? Am I finally dead?' _

Suddenly, the moment of silence was replaced with screams of agony, the clashing of weapon upon weapon, and the hums of intense flames. As the man got up, looking around with great confusion and worry, he soon found himself in the middle of a fierce battle. He walked further onto the battle field, which was soaked in blood and the bodies of the dead. _'What is this? Where am I? This isn't..._' A scream resounded through the air, and the man gasped with horror. _'I know that voice! But, it can't be...--_' His eyes widened. _'Colette!'_ He ran to the sound of her voice. When he got to the scene, shadowy figures stood over a corpse of a blond haired girl of around 16. The man gasped on more time, and went to draw his sword... only it wasn't there. He looked at his sheeth with worry. _'No! My sword! How can I defend her!'_ He eyed the mysterious figures, and began to cast something.

_'Judgement!'_

... Only, Judgement didn't appear. _'What the?_' He tried again, and again nothing happened. _'Why can't I use Judgement!'_ He tried to cast some other spells, and they also failed to appear. _'No... I... I cannot use my powers... it can't be...'_ The confused man whispered to himself as he looked at Colette, lying in a pool of blood before him. She suddenly turned her head to him, like a possessed doll. _'Kratos, wake up...You must... protect... T--'_ Her statement was cut as Colette breathed with a labored sigh, and died in her own blood. Her eyes staring at him. _'Protect who? Colette! NO!'_ Kratos shouted as he watched the chosen die in front of him. He ran at the figures with vengence on his mind. A sword of some kind began to materialize in his hand, and he grabbed the blade by the hilt. It was the Irving... and Kratos soon struck down the figures with it...

Flashbacks filled his head the moment he did. Of everything... Of 4000 years ago, of Anna and Lloyd, of his epic journey, of Mithos, and of his isolated exisistance upon Derris-Kharlan...

...Everything...

More mysterious figures appeared as if out of of nowhere, and began to grab onto Kratos' body. Soon he was engulfed in these shadowy figures... only this time, he didn't black out. Instead, the same pure white light that he had stared at had enveloped the shadows that bound to him, and eventually enclosed him as well...

"Colette, I'm coming..." Lloyd whispered as he struggled to make his way over to Colette. "Lloyd, go! Now!" Lloyd shook his head at Colette. "I'm not leaving you! I'll never leave you Colette!" Colette blushed a bit as the aliens had all finally landed in front of them. She quickly returned her attention to the massive group. The three stood face to face against around 40 of them. The group was so large, Colette had lost count after they were surrounded by twenty of the creatures. The situation was grim indeed...

...The creatures surrounded them... As Lloyd and Colette huddled close, protecting Kratos with their lives, they knew they were up against enemies far stronger than they ever were... and they knew this is probably were they would die. Lloyd turned to Colette. "You were incredibly brave Colette... It was amazing to watch what you just did to those things." Colette turned to face him. "Lloyd..." They shared a passionate kiss-- "I love you." and took hands, looking each other over for what may be their last time. "I love you too... forever." He said back. They looked up at the aliens who were now mere inches away from them... both now awaiting their demise. _'Terra...'_ They both thought as they closed their eyes. The swipe of several sharp claws came barreling down towards the two heroes...

... But the impact was broken off... A white dome of light suddenly encased Lloyd and Colette, and the alien's claws were instantly shattered upon striking the light. Lloyd looked down at Kratos' body, which seemed to be giving off an enormous amount of mana. His eyes widened, and he gasped...

"No... it can't be... Dad!"

**RP #19 - cepussinboots. Posted 2-5-06**

Merlin looked up from the corner he was hiding in. He was now surrounded by flames, and bits of burning buildings. "well, this is gonna be fun!" he said to himself as he gradually made his way back to his feet.  
He held his staff up, and pointed it at the flames. "now, ive got to do it just right, just like genis taught me"  
Merlin muttered a long phrase, which ended up with him yelling "TIDAL WAVE" and with those two words being muttered from his mouth, a huge jet of water came out of his staff and landed in a small pool infront of him. "yaaaah" cried Merlin, as he struck his staff down into the ground, making the water in the pool explode into a giant tidal wave of water, clearing all of the fire around him, and knocking several of the Aliens to the floor.  
"hehe, first times a charm!" he said as he looked around the battlefield, seeing everything that was going on.  
He started to move around, looking for people "lloyd, terra, collette? anybody?" he said, looking around.  
An explosion was heard infront of him, and a wall was knocked of a building, revealing 3 tarivians. They spoke in some weird language to eachother, and then lunged at Merlin.  
Merlin dodged out the way of two of the creatures, but the third sliced through his robes, and cut his flesh. "ouch, that hurt!" he yelled at it. "fine, lets settle this the hard way!"  
Merlin moved his staff in front of him, and then jammed it inside of his body. "ouch, still hurts" he whispered to himelf. He drew the staff out again, revealing a sword that had no blade, but instead glowed blue on where the blade should be. "showtime!" he muttered. The tarivians encircled him, and then all three made another lunge. Merlin swung his sword around, with a mighty force, and slashed the heads of all three of the tarivians.  
The monsters were thrusted back, and as they did so, Merlin jumped from head to head of them, eachtime digging his sword into their heads, in where the brains would most likely be. He then landed in the middle of the circle, and the three creatures fell to the floor dead.  
"well that was fun!" he said to himself, but just as he was about to put the sword away, another one landed directally in front of him. "come back for more?" Merlin said to it.  
It drew its knife like claws, and looked ready to attack. Merlin readied his sword. The creature, when it was about to move, fell to the floor dead, as Merlin had already cut his way, right through the middle of the creatures body, and burst out the other side, in an explosion of blue goo.  
Merlin put the sword away, and took back his staff. He then sighed, and looked at himself. "i need to get cleaned... and find some people!"

--------------------------------

meanwhile in New Ozette

Quandy had heard the news. A travelling mercenary had just ran in from New Mizuho, calling for help. It seemed there were alien creatures attacking the city. He took the sword of eternal life from its resting place above his bed, and strapped it to his back.  
Quandy moved towards his wardrobe, and opened it. It revealed no clothes, except his old combat gear. The Clothes of a true meditator.  
He got dressed and then sat down for a second. He was about to start again what he wanted to stop. He said that he didnt want to fight again, but he needed to, these people needed him.  
He walked outside, and put some luggage onto Bromain (his horse). Just as he was about to mount it, one of the villagers from Ozette stopped him.  
"Quandy..."  
Quandy turned around, and saw one of the militant officers from New Ozette, General Kishen.  
"what is it general?" Quandy asked, as he mounted Bromain. The general pointed Quandys head in the direction of what was at least 200 soldiers, all on horseback. "these soldiers are all ready to help New Mizuho in their time of need, and i want you Quandy, to lead them to battle" the general said, looking at Quandy.  
Quandy looked confused. "but, why dont you lead them?"  
"im old now Quandy, and im resigning my post of General of New Ozette to you. You told me about your past, and what happened, and by gosh, you have to be a better General then I ever was" And with those words, Kishen had slapped his badge on Quandys chestplate.  
Quandy and the soldiers lined up, ready to go to war.  
"there are 200 soldiers here Quandy, use them well" Kishen said. he then saluted Quandy and the army. "may you be guided safely, and return home peacefully" Quandy and the army saluted back. "im sure we will" Quandy turned his head to the army. "MEN, LETS DO THIS, FORWARD!" he drew his sword and rose it above his head. "TO WAR" he yelled, and galloped forwards on Bromain, with his 200 men following.  
As they approached the hill, just before new Mizuho, Quandy stopped his men. "you see that?" he said, pointing at the destruction of Mizuho that could be seen from miles. "that is what we are here to prevent. Some of you may die out there, but thats a risk we are willing to take. As you can see, it can only be approached from the south, and from the east, so i want to split you into two groups of 100, the South Invaders, will be lead by me. do we have a volunteer to lead the Eastward men?" he asked, looking around.  
"QUANDY" a voice yelled. a man rode up from the direction of Ozette, on an all black horse. As he drew nearer, Quandy knew who it was, and smiled.  
"so you came back then did you?" he said, as the mans horse came to a halt. Kishen looked up. "i needed at least one last fight!" he said.  
"very well, you and an army of 100 men, will attack eastwards, me and my army of 100, will attack southwards, is that clear. i said IS THAT CLEAR?" yelled Quandy, at the army.  
"SIR YES SIR" came the response.  
"GOOD" said Quandy. "now lets do this"  
Quandy and Kishen drew their swords, and roared a mighty battle cry, followed by the soldiers, and they all rode in the direction they were sent to.

----------------------------------

Merlin looked into the distance. he yelled at some nearby soldiers, that were fighting the creatures, (as was he). "SOMETHINGS COMING, BE ON YOUR GUARD"

--------------------

The armies rode in, cutting up Tarivians as they went past, some getting hit and being killed. One man on his horse stopped when they reached the old man that was Merlin, and dismounted.  
"hey old man, this is reinforcements from Ozette. its not much, but its what all we could get"  
The large man drew his sword, which Merlin recognised from somewhere, and started attacking many Tarivians, and not taking a single hit back. Merlin stood there shocked...  
"could it be?" he whispered to himself. "could it really be him?"

**RP #20 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 2-5-06**

From the forest several panther like emerged within moments of Anna vanishing into it. With New Mizuho in danger, their home was in danger, Anna had pointed that out. Many of the larger male warriors came with the smaller female warriors without their queen's permission, they helped the human warriors who seemed confused at first but then realized these felines were here to help. After several more minutes, Anna returned to the battlefield with a small group of felines, that attacked the alien creatures whole heartedly and with luster, Anna saw the light admitting from the village wondering what was going on, but she was worried about Terra as well. She saw Deadin though it wasn't him it was the beast, she avoided him for the time being as she did a double spin kick and was yanked down by her tail by some creature as she came down, she sliced the creature's throat. She sat hidden for a moment as she gained her breath, she could hear everything, rising she looked around the smoke filled village. She hear a cry for help within another flaming structure, she glanced at the building, the leaped into action, flying by Deadin into the blazing building. Her senses where somewhat paralyzed by the dense smoke and crackling flame as she speed quickly as possible through the flame that was chinging her fur, her eyes burned from the heat, she had to get out of here but she had to find the woman that cried out. Shielding herself as a burning debris that began to fall, she hunted finding a young woman passed in out in a closet, cradling her young infant, shielding it from the flames.  
Anna gasped for breath as the smoke was beginning to be too much for her, taking the child in her arms, she made her way out as the building began to collapse around her, causing her to be trapped with no way out. With the wall of flame around her, she slide to the floor holding the child, thinking that is would be that last. She heard a voice in her head of her father repeating some words that he said that she would need some day, that may just save her life, if only she would trust her elven half.  
Looking up toward the roof that was now collapsing in she cried out as the walls began to fall inward. "Dal l' torment d' chath dormagyn uns'aa lu' l' uss nindel zhah xuil uns'aa! Natha sreen'aur k'lar Usstan lac, gi quar'valsharess d' elamshinae tlu xuil uns'aa!"(translation: From the torment of fire save me and the one that is with me. A safe place I seek, oh goddess of grace be with me!)  
Within seconds, she and the child vanished with a bright light appearing near the protection of the forest, where the older villagers had gathered and those who could not fight. A young girl, cried out as Anna collapsed from heat exhaustion, an older man caught both her and the baby. As he looked toward the village to a house that just as it collapsed in smouldering heap of rubble.

Man: with sorrow My daughter...

Realizing this feline creature tried to rescue both mother and child, he waved several men over. The infant that was his grandson, was taken from Anna's arms by his grandmother, as several men came over to help care for the medium sized humanoid panther, to a more protected area away from the fight so she could be cared for. From the forest, the feline queen watched, she nodded and several hundred warriors emerged from the forest to help the humans.

Meanwhile Vanim was having a hard time convencing the king to send help. It took sometime but she finally got though to him that the land dwellers need, his aide, and that they would owe him. Sending over 250 troops to fight the sea battle and another 700 to help on land if needed.  
Vanim returned to be met by Sheena who told her to take the troops to Iselia as there was a war with ships there. Then Sheena vanished to go assist those in her village, leaving Vanim looking toward the burning village.

Vanim: Power of the Goddess, rain down justice upon the evil doers. With that she turned, vanishing into the ocean to go help those in Iselia


	8. The Battle for New Mizuho

**RP #1 - Jawni. Posted 2-5-06**

Forced to draw his weapon and engage battle, drawn forth and towards the heart of the fight, Aros Narnes held onto his trusty weapon, Nalrahk, and fought his way around the Village of New Mizuho. From out of nowhere he had heard a scream and after that a shout that told that aliens had invaded the village only one thing in mind, destruction. Houses were set on fire, blood was spilled across the village square, and men were screaming both of pain and fear. Aros felt necessary to aid the people for some odd reason he found no answer for nor did he think about it at the moment.

Aros rushed through the village square and saw two of these aliens circling a helpless soldier. With haste, Aros lunged towards the aliens and thrust his weapon into the back head of the other alien, breaking its neck with a single well-aimed blow. Surprised of this, the other alien turned his raging eyes at Aros hoping for more blood to be spilled. It crouched and jumped towards Aros its claw ready to slash its foes head off. Aros parried the blow easily with his staff and using the momentum he spun around and landed a blow into the back of the alien throwing it to the ground. Before it knew what hit him, Aros sprung into air, held his staff up high and thrust its other end deep into the alien's spine, paralysing it on the spot. Aros stood up and nodded towards the soldier signalling him to take his weapon and resume his duty.

The blood made Aros sick. The purple colour and the smell of it almost made Aros vomit. Bodies were lying everywhere; human, alien, feline, limbs cut off, covered in different tones and colours of blood. Aros pushed the thought aside and tried to focus. Three more aliens were closing on him. Aros gazed at them and took few steps back and held his staff towards the aliens. The begun circling around Aros, determined to attack him from three sides leaving no room to escape. Aros closed his eyes and started mumbling ancient elven words. The aliens were ready to attack and lunged towards Aros. A split second later, the aliens were left stunned to their tracks. Their pray they saw right before their eyes vanished without a trace. Aros had vanished. The aliens looked at each other questioning one another what had happened. Out of nowhere, a strike threw one of the aliens on the ground. Shocked by this, the others gazed around trying to see where the strike came from. Another one, sending another alien onto its knees holding its breath came from out of nowhere. Determined, the third alien begun slashing around fiercely, hoping to land a blow to this ghost that it thought it was, but in vein. A heavy blow sent it flying on the ground, cursing this thing that attacked it. The others were back to their feet and joined their companions side and quickly formed a plan. They stood right next to each other and started charging a spell. Few seconds later, dozens of bright yellow lightings struck the ground crushing everything in their path and forming a small cloud of dust over the area. As the dust cleared, they saw a man on his knees holding his side, which oozed blood. Quickly, they charged towards the man only to hear one single word before forever closing their eyes.

"Tornado!"

Aros collapsed on the ground of the feat. His invisibility spell had drained almost all of his mana and the tornado spell drained the rest of it, leaving Aros completely helpless. He tried to heal himself, but he was too weak. After taking few deep breaths, he saw from the corner of his eye, three more aliens were closing on him. With his last strength he tried to stand up and face his end standing proud, but hopelessly collapsed on the ground face first. He could feel the aliens breath in his neck waiting them to end his misery with a single blow. He saw his short life flash by his eyes only to regret the things he had done now hoping he'd die swiftly. One of the aliens shrieked as it raised its claw ready to end Aros' misery, but then lowered its claw down as it saw a small glowing figure some yards away from it. Before realizing what was going on it was already too late.

"Air Blade!"

A Razor sharp gust of wind travelled at high speed straight towards the aliens shredding them into pieces and missing Aros by a hair. Aros was barely conscious, but felt something familiar close by as a small boy with a toy like weapon in his hand helped Aros to his feet and said something like '…should stick together…' which Aros barely understood he was fighting of his life which was on the balance. The boy carried Aros next to a house and gave him a grey colored gel to eat, quickly took a look at Aros' wound and tying it up. Then the boy said something, which Aros didn't understand. The boy ran off and left Aros there chewing the gel, slowly regaining his strength.

A minute later Aros was back on his feet, energized, but still wounded. He looked around and saw battle everywhere. He started walking towards the entrance of the village in hope of running into someone who could help him. After only few steps, Aros saw the boy running towards him waving his hand.

"Great! You're up. Feeling better now? He he, they really got you, didn't they?"

"Who, what…" Aros tried to say.

"We elven kind should stick together at times like this. Now, hurry up! I'll take you to a safer place."

The boy grabbed Aros' arm and led him out of the village and towards the edge of the forest where a small bunch of soldiers were healing the wounded. He told Aros to sit down and said that he'll be back later. The boy ran away waving the toy like weapon and fired fire balls towards some aliens as he went away. A nurse came to Aros and told him to stay still and placed a staff on Aros' wound and muttered few words. A bright light emerged from the staff. Aros felt blood raging back to his veins and flesh growing back in his arm. Few seconds later, Aros felt ready to take the aliens on again. He stood up and thanked the nurse, which he now recognised as an elf. The nurse tried to tell Aros to rest, but it was too late, as he was already far gone in the village radiating new strength. This time, he was determined to pay back the aliens for what they had done to him.

**RP #2 - cepussinboots. Posted 2-6-06**

Merlin knew he had seen that man, that hero before... but he couldnt remember from where, he made his way towards the struggling warrior.

--------------------------------------

Quandy continued fighting through. It was hard as their were so many that it was hard to see where you were fighting. Just then, a figure came running towards Quandy, just as he had cleared his area. It collapsed at Quandys feet, and looked up at him. It was Kishen.  
"my army... at the eastern border... dead" he gasped.  
Quandy stood there shocked. half his men were gone, and he had to do something. "what happened?"  
Kishen looked up and fell unconcious, so Quandy reached into his pocket, withdrew a pellet, and fed it to Kishen, who soon recovered and stood up. Quandy repeated "what happened?"  
Kishen looked up "the creatures, they saw our reinforcements, and hundreds more came... and, now the way to the eastern area is blocked.. and their are people trapped there... lloyd irving... and his wife... they are the only ones there"  
An old man walked up and looked down, tears dripping from his eyes. he said "if what i here about lloyd and colette is true, then... please, can we save them?"  
Quandy looked at Merlin, then at Kishen, who nodded back.  
"the way may be blocked, but we'll do what we can"  
Merlin decided to come with them.  
They approached the eastern border and stopped, as they saw at least 500 blocking the way to lloyd and colette.  
"ready your weapons" kishen said. "Charge"  
They ran into battle, and soon got engulfed by all of the creatures. they had no choice but to retreat, so they ran back outside of the ring of creatures, and made it safely to clear coverage. As they got back, 3 Tarivians appeared in front of the warriors. "let me handle this" Kishen said couragesly, stepping out with his weapon. He started slashing at the Tarivians, who managed to dodge,as kishen was not the best of fighters. One stabbed kishen straight through the stomach, and he fell to his knees.  
He held his wound, and got up again, be heading the one that slashed him, when another stabbed him through his stomach in a different place. This time it was fatal, and kishen was thrown back.  
He jumped back up, and killed it, leaving one Tarivian left, that stabbed him very close to the heart. He fell back to quandys feet, who drew his sword and destroyed the Tarivian that harmed his friend, and he went back down, and held kishen in his arms.  
"are you... ok?" Quandy asked, realising it was a stupid question. Kishen started coughing up blood, and spluttered the words "Quandy.. thankyou for all youve done" quandy reached into his pocket, and took another pellet out, but Kishen refused it. "Quandy, its my turn to die... this is something i have to do ive decided..."  
"but what about the people of Ozette?" asked Quandy  
"theyve got you now, listen Quandy, i came to battle with you, so i could die... i wanted to"  
"you... stupid fool" Quandy said, punching the ground.  
"im sorry... Quandy" kishen gasped, and with that, he died.  
Quandy rested the Generals head down, and stood up. "not again" he said quietly.  
As Quandys rage built up, his spirit angered. He screamed with anger, and in a burst of white light, an explosion that could be heard for miles was heard. It was quandys spirit awakening again. And Quandy looked up, eyes glowing white, with no pupils showing, and his body giving off a vibrant glow of blue.

As he saw this, Merlin smiled, and looked at the glowing warrior. "at last" Merlin said "the Meditator has once again awakend

**RP #3 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 2-6-06**

Anna lay out cold for a long time on the mat the villager had placed her, they had called a nurse to help her. While a nurse tried to revive her. After several attempts, she conceded that Anna's body had to take it own time to recover from the ravages of the smoke and flames.  
Meanwhile within her mind, Anna fought with her feelings for Deadin as L'Fuer'yon a dreaded creature of mindless and ruthless killing.  
She felt alone, with no-one to turn to, hatred all around her, a child rejected by elven and human alike because she looked like a humanoid panther. Accept grudged by creatures like herself that wanted nothing to do with her, she lived basically alone.  
Her father appeared before her Ussta dalhar, dos ph' naut maglust. Dos inbal abbilen nindel kyon whol dos. (translation: My child, you are not alone. You have friends that care for you.)  
Anna: That maybe so... but without you or mother... I am alone. I have no-one to turn to. cry of anguish no-one that cares... I am a crossbreed that no-one wants. And no one desires.  
Her Father: in common tongue What of the one known as Deadin?  
Anna: Father, I know not if he truly cares for me… and at this time he is L'Fuer'yon…. lowers her head  
Her Father: _Yet, young one you care for him. The Beast scares you so rightly, but do not turn your back on your friend. But you must awaken and battle to save the people that helped you. Learn the magic that is within you, for it will help you. Your mother and I will always be with you._ With that he hugs Anna transferring his magic to her as he fades away. It will be several more minutes before she would awaken, weak but refreshed with Deadin on her mind.

**RP #4 - Newtype06. Posted 2-6-06**

There was no Deadin, only the Beast. The two psyches battled for control over the ferocious body. Deadin grappled with the Beast in the corners of his mind. The Beast struck first. Where would you be if not for me? Look at yourself! Four of them managed to cripple you! What I have done today was nothing short of miraculous! I am coming up on a dozen victories! Deadin had no answer to this. For now, the Beast had won.

A black shape flew over the Beast. It was Anna. The Beast wheeled about. This was a foe it wanted to fight. The beast was tired of the redundancy of the Tarivians, and wanted a real challenge. However, a fresh wave of Tarivians got between him and Anna, and the Beast was forced to end their lives. In the time it took to kill off the Tarivians, Anna had disappeared inside a burning building. The Beast decapitated the final Tarivian, but was too late. Anna was deep inside the building, and the entrance was blocked by burning debris. The Beast cursed the agility of the Panthers, and tried to find something to kill. It was not paying attention to the yells from inside. Deadin was. Deep inside the burning building, Deadin heard someone yelling in a strange language. It seemed so familiar, but at the same time so foreign. It sounded like elvish, but at the same time did not. However, the voice was as recognizable as any Deadin had ever heard. It was Anna. The Beast, probing Deadin's thoughts, wheeled around, trying to see where the shouts came from. At that moment, the building collapsed, spraying the Beast with cinders. The Beast laughed. Deadin screamed.

The Beast began to shake. Something was wrong. This was a sensation it was not familiar with. The Beast clasped his head, looking for the throbbing pain that was there. Hiding, deep within the recesses of his mind, Deadin fought back with unbridled passion. His sorrow of seeing Anna's death gave him a limitless fuel, driving the Beast back. The two creatures fought violently, until finally Deadin flung the Beast back to its dark prison in the dark corners of his mind. In control again, Deadin broke off from his rampage, and looked for Terra.

Anna was dead. Nothing could have escaped that crash, not even a panther as agile as she. Deadin's heart panged with sorrow. She had been a great friend, and in time might have been something more…Blinking the blur of tears from his eyes, Deadin endeavored to find the only other friends he had: The Irvings. Lady Terra was the top priority. She was young, and was an easy target for the Tarivians. Deadin smiled to himself. If he had a few months, he could make Terra a force to be reckoned with. The night was waning, and the great battle had reduced to small individual combats in the streets. Deadin raced past them, narrowly avoiding a great number of cavalry.

Finally, Deadin locked onto Terra's scent. Discerning her from all the other ambient smells was simple. Terra was a flower amongst brimstone. Her scent stuck out like a sore thumb. Deadin raced to her, intent on protecting her to the death.

Deadin found her huddled under a pile of Debris with an unconscious young Mizuhoan boy. Deadin sheathed his sword, and knelt down to her. "Are you alright, Lady Terra?" Terra nodded, and went back to resuscitating the young boy. After several tense seconds, the boy coughed up a heap of black smoke. Terra seemed to let go of a breath she had been holding for ages, and Deadin seemed to relax as well. Every life saved today would pay dividends down the road… Suddenly, there was an explosion outside of the village. Beams of light streaked from the sky and hit the ground. Deadin flinched and turned away, but Terra looked straight at the impacts. Down at the bottom, seemingly calling the strikes down, was Colette. Terra gasped, and screamed "MOM!" Terra tore off towards the battle. Deadin picked up the semi-conscious boy, and raced after her.

**RP #5 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 2-7-06**

Anna lay on the makeshift bed in the forest, she could hear the sound of battle in the village, she felt guiltly for not being out there fighting but she couldn't figure out how she got from the burning building to the forest until one of the refuges explained. She was dumbfounded, she had used magic to be specific an elven teleportation spell. Slowly sitting up she could just see the village from the trees, there were several Tavarians sniffing out the scents of the people that had fled in the field another set of panthers were protection for this group. As she was about to rise, she was stopped and told to rest for now, the man named Reggie would attempt to get a message to the person, who name she was mumbling for while she was out cold. She looked at Reggie in confusion then her eyes widened and she began to laugh with embarressment, realizing that she had called out for Deadin while she was unconcience, smiling she agreed. Reggie winked as she laid back down as a nurse came to check on her progress. Anna knew she had to get better in record time to help her friends, she hated what the fire did to her fur but that would heal in time as well. Anna began coughing up black junk from her lungs that she inhaled while she was in the fire.

Reggie: My grandson is doing fine, thanks to you... We owe you and your people.

Anna while coughing could not respond, confused by what he meant by her people. She was dark elf and panther... those people were here on the behalf of her mother not her or so she thought.

**RP #6 - Dragoon Taryn. Posted 2-7-06**

Anyone who had seen Luin destroyed twenty years ago wouldn't recognize it now. The city was flourishing, and busy with the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Ellyria sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She had managed to make it to Luin, but she still had to make the trip to Asgard to finish her job. "Well, looks like I'd better get a move on," she told herself aloud as she made her way out of the city.

A while passed before she made it to the Luin-Asgard border. The Palmacosta government several years ago thought it was being clever, and built a blockade between Luin and Asgard. Ellyria saw it as an inconvenience to some, a pain in the ass to many, but she was allowed to travel freely past the blockade. This, of course, was only because she had bothered to register with the Mercenary's Guild in Luin, which had agreements with all major governments in the world to allow mercenaries with proper ID to travel anywhere.

Slipping her hand into her hip pack, Ellyria fumbled around for her ID as she approached the guards at the entrance. They looked at her with curiosity, and perhaps a little lust, which Ellyria was used to. "You want to go to Asgard? Sorry, but no one is allowed through her right now, as per the order of the Palmacosta government," one of the guards told her.

She pulled out her ID and held it up. "Ellyria Highwind of the Mercenary's Guild. I've been given authorization to pass."

"The guard shook his head." Sorry Miss Highwind, but due to the nature of the situation at the present time…"

"What situation?" Ellyria asked, cutting him off. "Unless the entire Asgard region has been blown to hell and doesn't exist, I see no reason why I cannot pass."

"Well, you see… Palmacosta is currently engaged in military actions, and has closed off all borders, to prevent spies from slipping through. Please understand, but you'll have to return the way you came."

Ellyria blew some of the bangs off her face in frustration. _Of course Palmacosta is attacking someone again. If they didn't, they'd probably get bored,_ she thought.

Without a word of reply, she spun around and headed back towards the direction of Luin. After traveling such a distance that she couldn't see the blockade or Luin, she sat down in the grass, frustrated. "Goddammit, I'm not going to wait around for Palmacosta to finish playing their war games, I think it's time to jump to another continent."

A blast of energy suddenly singed the ground, inches away from where Ellyria was sitting. "Yikes!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "What the hell's happening now?"

A small group of creatures were advancing to her position. Ellyria recognized them as the same type that attacked her at the crash site. "Dammit, are you uglies back for more? I'm vicious you know!" she shouted.

The creatures turned to each other, saying things to each other that Ellyria could not make out, then focused on her again and continued advancing.

_Great, I couldn't even take one of these things, not to mention six of them!_ She thought, frowning.

Determined to maintain her position, she began chanting. "You baddies are in for it now…. FLA—"

"Judgment!"

Pillars of light seemed to rain down on the creatures, making them shriek.

_That... wasn't my spell,_ Ellyria thought, dumbfounded. _Oh well._

"FLAMES OF DESTRUCTION!"

Dancing flames appeared and scorched the creatures' flesh. Three of them fell, the remaining three decided to retreat.

"Haha!" Ellyria smirked, "You freaks of nature are afraid of little old me… huh?"

Turning around, Ellyria realized that there was a group of people behind her, looking prepared to attack if the creatures were to return. She put her hand to her forehead. "Okay… maybe not."

Someone from the group approached her. Ellyria assumed he was the leader, he was dressed different. _And he seems to radiant authority… okay, maybe I'm making that part up,_ she thought.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Peachy," Ellyria replied, "Thanks for the help. Who are you, anyway?"

The man shook his head a little, then said, "I am Yuan, I'm the leader of the Renegades. And you are?"

**RP #7 - SuperSonic88. Posted 2-7-06**

The battle in Mizuho raged on. "Want some more?" Salan said, jabbing Sange into yet another of the creatures. It let out a gurgle, then fell to the ground. He pulled his sword out of the creature, and spotted his next target. It saw him too, and swung its claws at him. He brought, Sange up to block the attack, then severed the limb with his other sword, Yasha. "Just how many of these things are there?" He thought to himself. "Well, don't have time to lose, gotta keep going!" He said, finishing off the wounded beast.

**RP #8 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 2-11-06**

As things calmed down in the forest, Anna woke up from her slumber, she could still hear fighting outside of the forest. As she sat up, she noticed that the panther group had retreated into the forest, as she slowly rose to her feet, walking to the edge of the forest, she noticed that the other creatures of the forest were quiet, she leap up into the canopy and and watched silently. She could see the smoke from the village deminished and there were few houses, she scanned the fields noticing the dead bodies of motey crew of creatures and several fights still raging on.

**RP #9 - Newtype06. Posted 2-11-06**

"Terra! Duck!" Deadin screamed, suddenly tackling Terra. Terra felt a swishing sensation ruffling through her hair. Deadin felt something different. Perhaps it was the three Tavarian blades raking his face. One of the deadly fingers traced a crimson line across his muzzle, the other two running diagonal lines across his eyes. _That ones gonna scar,_ Deadin thought as he and Terra completed their fall to the ground. Even as the two of them hit, Deadin was rolling into action. He really wasn't sure what was keeping him going. The Beast had expended all his energy. He was running solely on will power. He had enough energy perhaps for one useful spell, but that was it.

Rolling about, Deadin pushed Terra away. Scrambling to his feet and drawing his sword in one motion, Deadin parried another attack. Knocking the blades away, Deadin flipped his sword into a backhanded form, and swung upwards, amputating a wrist. Reduced to counting in base five, the Tavarian stumbled backwards. Deadin remembered his promise to Lloyd, and decided that this was as good a place as any to start teaching. Deadin stepped back a few paces, and turned to Terra. "Watch this." Deadin turned back to the one handed Tavarian, and goaded him on. It charged, and in his mind Deadin readied the technique he would use.

The slap-and-parry is a simple and energy-efficient sword technique. When an enemy strikes, the defender "slaps" the enemy's weapon with his. It isn't so much a defense as much as it is an attack on the enemy's weapon. The unexpected ferocity in the defense will often send the attacker's weapon to his side, leaving the torso exposed. Deadin executed a textbook slap-and-parry. The Tavarian charged, bringing his remaining had to bear. Deadin slapped it to the side, and swung his mighty sword, aiming for the head instead of the torso. The Tavarian fell backwards, several inches shorter. Brain fluid, or its Tavarian counterpart, spilled everywhere. Terra took a few tentative steps backwards. "Ewwww…"

Deadin went back to the Mizuhoan boy, who seemed to have been totally forgotten in the midst of the battle. He slung the unconscious lad over his shoulder, and stood next to Terra. Her attention had shifted back to Colette. The heavenly artillery had ceased, and an eerie silence pervaded. Terra looked at Deadin, and continued running towards her mother. Deadin took a moment to check one of his cuts. If he survived, the scars would run all across his face, even during transformations. However, he knew a day would come when he could proudly say, "I received these blows protecting Terra Irving." Deadin interrupted his delusions of grandeur, and followed his charge.

**RP #10 - cepussinboots. Posted 2-15-06**

Quandy, finally had awoken again. He looked around, and looked at his hands, and then his arms, and then his body. He was glowing a luminous light bluey/whitey colour.  
"so this is what it feels like," he said softly to himself "after all these years, ive actually awakened as a proper meditator"  
Before, Quandy could use his powers, but not to his hearts content. Now that he had awakened fully, he knew would be stronger then they ever have been in his life. He drew his sword, and twirled it around abit. He could see that his sword had grown with him, and had more enscriptions written on it then before. This time it had, 'the final task is complete', written underneath 'eternal life'.  
A Tavarian rushed towards Quandy, "time to test this power!" he said to himself.  
As it came towards him, it stabbed at Quandys chest, but its claws just shattered, and the creature came to a hault.  
"heh" Quandy laughed "here we go"  
Quandy punched the creature in the stomach, and his hand broke right through, killing the beast.  
"wow, better then i expected" he muttered, wiping the Tavarian gunk off his hand.

Merlin stood watching. This was the second awakening he had witnessed before. One of a predecessor to Quandy, 1000 years ago, and now this one. Merlin sat down to watch the spectaculour fight show, that was about to happen.


	9. An Awakening

**RP #11 - SuperSonic88. Posted 2-16-06**

The battle still raged all around Salan. "Dammit! When will this end!" Salan exclaimed, barely ducking under another set of claws. He pluged Sange and Yasha into the creature's chest, then cleaved the monster clean in half in the process of removing his swords. Salan allowed himself a moment of self-congratualtion at the flashy kill, then there was a dull thud as one of the mosters landed a blow to the back of his head. Stars exploded into his vision as he stumbled forward. In a stroke of blind luck, tripping over a rock saved him from being decapitated by a set of swinging claws. Managing to compose himself, he interposed his blades between him and the monster, the planted his boots into the thing's chest and kicked it into the air, invicerating it with a follow through stoke form Sange. "Damn, can't afford to get sloppy like that again!"

**RP #12 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 2-16-06**

Anna heard a scream leaping down from the tree, she followed the sound to what looked like the aliens she was fighting earlier but they were bigger, she stood for a moment wondering how her claws could even dent this creature. Then realized if she could cast magic, she could harm it... but how..? (OOC: kept spelling who)

Anna: in feline Ok.. now how do I do this? What can hurt them? what spell can I use?

A voice from the branches above her Would water work Anna glances up to see a panther humanoid

Anna: Not sure but I can always try... she thinks for a moment

Panther: New spell caster.. chuckles as she lands beside Anna My name is Purrti... turns to look at the creature Well, something has to be done... Rain!

As Anna watched a heavy rain fell on the creatures that mearly stood there looking slightly confused

Purrti: Guess not... pauses to think as the creatures turn their direction

Anna: Hard water maybe... I wonder... HAIL! small pellets at first begin falling then larger ones begin falling the creatures screamed as both Purrti and Anna vanished into the forest canopy

**RP #13 - AngelicAura616. Posted 2-18-06**

_The battle raged on in Iselia. It looked like the Palmacosta Navy was bringing out their weapons and spellcasters. They were beginning to surpress the Iselian refutation, and the Spread spell soon was ineffective. The Iselian forces then began a head-on attack, still using spells. Instead of being organized, though, it became a chaotic sturggle. They tried to keep the Palmacosta Navy in the sea. Their attempt was failing, and soon, the Palmacosta Army would unload from the ships onto land, and would most likely mean defeat on the Iselian part. _

"Damn...the Palmacostans have engaged their cannons...we'll never stand a chance.." Aaron thought.

Many of the Iselian forces were being killed by cannonballs, launched very well. Cannonballs weren't the only things flying from the ships, though. He noticed Flame Lances, Freeze Lancers, Ground Dashers, and Spark Waves were erupting on board the ships, as well as on ground. More and more men fell prey to the spells and fell unconscious or dead every second. They needed help... Where were the Mizuhoan forces!

It was the beginning of the end...the Palmacostan ships had docked on land. They opened their hatches, and out came hundreds, maybe even thousands, of warriors.

"Genis, I hope you didn't teach me this spell wrong," Aaron whispered, "Explosion!"

A large fireball appeared above the large group of warriors, and landed on a large group of them. It took out a pretty good amount of warriors for one battle, but the Palmacostan armor was quite effecient. Aaron noticed that those not in the direct proximity of the spell were getting right back up.

"Ugh... That drained me... Iselians! Charge!" Aaron commanded.

The soldiers looked at him apprehensively.

"NOW!" Aaron demanded.

They slowly unsheathed their swords, and began running at the enemy. Aaron was in the rear end, watching for any potential surprise attacks on the people in the city. He realized that whatever attacked Palmacosta probably destroyed buildings and innocent people, and the Palmacostans would want to get revenge in a similar fashion.

The soldiers of Iselia were actually managing to survive well, considering they hadn't been trained for close-range combat in a long time. The Iselian War General figured their magic would be good enough to hold them out. He was very wrong. Aaron considered another spell Genis taught him...but if it backfired, the whole Iselian force would be in trouble. Either way, Aaron would be left without energy. It would not be possible to return to battle after using that. He decided against it, but saved the thought for the end of the battle.

"Keep on fighting!" Aaron shouted to the others, turning to another Palmacostan and thrusting one of his swords, Unda, into him, "Ha! Lightning Blade! Super Lightning Blade!"

The soldier fell to the ground. He sheathed Unda quickly, and slid out his second sword, Aer.

_Aaron's two swords were very special to him. Not only are they the only things able to support his Storm spells, but they can cause utter chaos when used in combination with each other. Unda, translated into Water, and Aer, translated into Wind, were forged from a mine discovered nearby Hima, in the mountains. This mine was only used to forge very special weapons, in which mana is placed inside the blade. This allows the blade to mix with another blade to release very devastating effects. It drains the user of energy, though, to combine them. Genis had also stored Atlas inside of Aer, and Tidal Wave inside of Unda, making every blow increasingly painful to the person being attacked._

"Hah, great job, Zelos. It worked." laughed Aaron.

He pulled away from the large mass of soldiers and snuck behind a rock. He charged his Zephyr Storm spell, and jumped out.

"ZEPHYR!" Aaron shouted.

A large gust of wind blew over the water, and picked some of it up, unleashing a torrent upon the Palmacostan ships and soldiers.

"Hah, good 'ol Storm spells." Aaron breathed, and ran back into battle.

It was then that Aaron noticed soldiers fleeing back to their previous position, and casting spells.

"No... Don't do that! Gah... Why did I have to do that? Oh well, at least they're still fighting. Might as well call off the close-range attack. All soldiers, spellcasting positions!"

The soldiers looked relieved, and returned to the area they were previously, ducking behind rocks. The Palmacostans took a position near the sea. They were actually losing more soldiers than the Iselians were. They knew that it would be a long time before they successfully defeated them though. The Palmacostan ships were still launching cannonballs. They hit dead bodies on the battlefield a couple times while switching their targets to the rocks the Iselians were hiding behind. The cannons shattered a couple rocks, and the Palmacostans fired their Aqua Lasers simultaneous to the cannon fire. It became hard to dodge. The Iselians did not give up, though, and kept attacking, using Spread, Grave, Earth Bite, Spiral Flares, and anything else they had in their arsenal of spells. Aaron was preparing his Prism Sword spell, until the rock he was behind shattered. He cast up the Force Field technique Raine taught him, and took off to higher land.

"We can't hold up much longer. Is it be possible to live long enough for the Mizuhoans to show up? Are the Mizuhoans really even coming?" wondered Aaron.

Aaron's attention was diverted when he saw the Palmacostan ships open their hatch again. He was caught breathless at what was coming out of the holding bay.

**RP #14 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 2-22-06**

Anna and her companion watched as the aliens seemed to be thinned out in the forest by the local residents and the towns people that had fled there for protection... Anna's fur made her look as if she had mange from all the things she had gone through. She was tired as she knew the rest of the people were, she hoped this battle would be over quickly.

**RP #15 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 3-1-06**

As Anna and Purrdu moved throug the trees with ease returning to the refuges of the village, Purrdu stood looking around wondering if the humans would be safe in the forest, turning as she heard noice of horses coming from New Osette a small army coming but to do what she was not certain, Anna was looking in that direction as well as the humans noticed them and began hearing the sound of horses.

**RP #16 - White Rose. Posted 3-7-06.**

Terra watched closely as Deadin continued his assault against the Tarivians. One by one, the massive army was slowly being penetrated, thanks to him, and the help of Quandy and Merlin. But... even with all of her friends... Terra couldn't take her eyes off of Deadin... She couldn't believe Deadin's speed and power. Her eyes widened as she watched him fight. She was amazed by him. She put her own head down for a moment, drifting into a thought. _'Dammit... who am I kidding? I'll never be as strong as him... Why does he even want to train me?'_ She closed her eyes in shame. _'What can a girl do anyway?'_ A head of a decapitated Tarivian, slaughtered by Deadin came flying over Terra's head to the suprise of everyone, and he glanced at her irritantly as the small group was caught in a brief ambush by six Tarivians who had hid amongst the trees after the first wave of the massive army retreated... for now. "Terra! Pay attention!" Deadlin shouted with irritance. Terra startled, reverting her attention back to Deadin. "Oh! Sorry..." She muttered, sulking a bit. Terra continued to watch as Deadin got rid of the another two with a fury of decisive strikes of the sword. Quandy and Merlin quickly took out the remaining four, and all reverted their attention back to Lloyd and Colette.

As the creatures fell, Terra charged towards her mother and father. "Mom! Dad!" She shouted just as the protective dome encasing them starts to fade, and then dissappears. Terra, Deadin, and the others looked awkwardly at one another, then back at the Lloyd and Colette. "What was that?" Quandy saids to Colette with great curiosity, looking down at the body of Kratos. Colette looked at him, then back at Kratos, and shook her head. "We don't know..." Lloyd's eyes widened as he continued to stare at his father. He smiled with anticipation. "I knew it... I knew he was alive! He has to be... how else could anyone explain this?" Colette, Terra, Deadin, Quandy and Merlin look at one another. "Hmm... Perhaps it was Kratos' mana that protected you all. And perhaps now... he really is--" Merlin stopped his statement upon looking at Lloyd's changing face. Lloyd's smile had dissappeared quickly, and he cast eyes to the ground next to Kratos, and they filled with dissappointment. "Your mother and I would've died had it not been for my dad... We--" He paused and sighed a bit. "We were ill prepared for all of this." Colette looked shamefully down at the ground. "It's true. We became so use to our moment of peace and prosperity, that we all have managed to neglect our training." She and Lloyd look at one another, and Lloyd sighs again. "...Something my dad would never do, or approve of. He tried to get that through my head so many times..." Lloyd's lips furl in anger. "Damn it all! Why am I so stubborn! Look what's happening to our world, again!" Terra shakes her head. "It's not just you, dad! You know this whole situation's not your fault!" Terra looks around at the dead or injured Tarivians lining the forest path that they all stood on, and then back at her parents. "None of us expected this..." Deadin sighed and glanced around the area. "Noone ever expects utter chaos to occur. I'm sure Kratos didn't either."

Lloyd's eyes widened and he glanced at Deadin with a perplexed expression. "You know of my father?" Deadin nods, to the suprise of Lloyd, Colette, Terra and Quandy. "Indeed." He sighs again. "But this will be another story for another day. We still have a battle to fight Master Irving, and even though there are doubts about your father's condition... we must focus on our battle at hand right now. For our own sake." Quandy interrupts. "Yes... We can only worry about protecting him, and ourselves." Lloyd nods. "Yeah... you guys are right..." He sighs. He glances at Terra. "Terra listen up." Lloyd saids as he turns around to face some Tarivians who have either recovered, or are simply reinforcements, who are beginning to close in on the small group yet again. His eyes become enraged. "Go with your mother and get to safety. I don't plan on losing anyone today, and I'll be damned if I dissappoint my father ever again... Not today. Not after what he did for me..." Terra stares at her dad, and at Deadin. Deadin glances back at Terra and Colette. "Colette, I've cleared you a temporary path. Take Kratos and Terra, and get out of here. Once we're done with these vermin, we'll regroup." Colette nods. "I will. Please be careful." She finishes with a smile towards Lloyd. Colette and Terra pick up Kratos and slowly make their way through the forest.

As the Tarivians close in even further, the group of three once again find themselves surrounded on all sides by the frightingly strong beings, who thirst for their blood. They eye one another before charging in. "Even if we manage to survive this small battle, there will be many more confrontations like these ahead." Deadin saids to Lloyd, as they now glance around, eyeing everyone of the disgusting aliens in sight. Lloyd, staring with anger at their enemies--never once stopping to glance at Deadin, puts away his Kusangi Blades, and from another set of sheaths strapped to his sides, draws his ultimate weapon--the twin bladed Neblium. One of the nine legendary Devil's Arms of the past...

Deadin stares at the weapons, seemingly mesmorized by them... Was it the beast inside being drawn to the awsome power flowing through the cursed blades, or was it his own natural human-like curiosity? Deadin shook his head and turned back towards the Tarivians. Lloyd finally glanced back at Deadin, concerned for him for a second. "You okay?" Deadin shuts his eyes and nods, holding the beast inside at bay by refusing to look at the strikingly powerful blades. "Fine." He saids with a small sigh. "They're closing in fast. Let's go." Lloyd reverted his attention back to their enemies, and the three charged towards the oncoming Tarivians...

Out at the Asgard/Palmacosta border

"So, you're the famous Yuan..." Ellryia saids with curiosity. Yuan smirks a bit before nodding. "Famous? Hmm... I suppose so. Yes." Ellryia looks him over--her heart beating faster than normal for some odd reason. She sunk into a brief thought. _'Wow. I never thought this was THE Yuan. Damn he's cute...'_ Her eyes widened and she looked away--her face growing more red by the minute. And not just one shade either. _'Am I blushing! Oh no... I can't be...'_ Yuan tilts his head and raises a curious eyebrow at Ellryia's unusual expressions. "Ma'am? Are you alright?" Ellyria glances at him, red as a cherry, and quickly turns around trembling a bit. She slumps a little, and finishes her thought. _'... I knew it. Way to make an impression, Highwind...'_ She quickly snaps out of her thoughts, turns to face Yuan while scratching her head, with sweat pouring down her face for a moment, and the redness dissappearing. (Anime people. Anime. ) She closes her eyes, and smiles happily. "Fine, fine! Everything's okay. I'm okay! You're okay too!" She opens her eyes and blushes again, looking at him. "No! I meant to say, are you okay? And...umm..." She sighs and slumps again. "I don't know what I was saying..." Yuan chuckles a bit and extends his hand to her. "How about a simple hi? That's always a start." Ellyria hesitantly extends her trembling hand to his. "S--sure th--thing..." They shake, and he looks at his hand that Ellyria seems to be squeezing rather tightly and nervously. Ellyria looks at him then at their hands and quickly lets go of his. "Sorry! Really I am!" She sighs again. "Hi..." She saids after seeming to calm down some. Yuan smirks a bit. "And your name was what again, Miss?" He said. She scratched the back of her head again. "...Ellyria. Ellryia Highwind..."

After a few questions from Yuan, and answers out of Ellyria, a Rheaird lands behind the two travellers. A man dressed in a Renegade uniform, with a fancy feather-topped helmet gets off, and salutes towards Yuan. "Excuse me, Miss Highwind." He turns towards the renegade soldier. "So, what have you got for me, commander Brome?" A leading Renagade commander by the name of Brome salutes once again before speaking. "Sir. My team indicated that a Rheaird signal went off-line several days ago over the field to New Ozette." Yuan thinks for a moment. "So... that's what that explosion was..." Ellyria looks back and forth between the two, but dares not to interfere. "Yes sir. Also, there has been alot of activity coming from that way... aside from the waring nations, of course." Yuan tilted his head again. "Other activity? What do you mean? What activity?" The commander swallowed hesitantly, before continuing on. "Strange creatures sir. Tall alien like specimens have been spotted all over this area..." The commander removed his helmet, and lowered his head. "My team would've been here to inform you of this sooner... but I was the only one that made it alive sir..." Yuan and Ellyria's eyes widened, and Ellyria gasped. "...Those things... the ones you just killed..." Yuan glances back at Ellyria. "It would appear so..." Yuan closed his eyes. "It seems these aren't the only ones..." The commander nodded. "Yes... sir. There must be thousands. The group that killed my team consisted of 20. We managed to take out roughly half of them before everyone was slaughtered..." Yuan sighed, and an angered look started to take over his face. Ellryia was about to speak, telling him of her encounter, but Yuan interrupts just as she was about to talk. "About that explosion commander Brome..." The commander looked at him. "Sir?" Yuan opens his eyes and looks at the commander. "What was the license number of that Rheaird?" Yuan asks with curiosity and worry. "#0548723 Sir. It was licensed to the Lezareno corporation in Altamira."

Yuan gasped for a minute. "Regal..." Ellyria glanced at them with worry. "Regal? Regal Bryant? The head of Lezareno?" Yuan nods and looks at the commanding officer. "Take me to the crash sight commander. Now!" The commander salutes again. "Sir!" He and Yuan start to walk back to the vehicle when Ellyria stops them. "Please, let me go with you. I'd like to help. I feel terrible about what happened to your men..." The commander sighed. "Sir, please. We--" Yuan waves his hand and silences Brome. "I'll take to the sky Brome. Escort Miss Highwind and lead me. We may need all the help we can get..." Brome nods. "Alright..." He saids irritantly. Ellyria startles. "Take to the sky! What!" Yuan and the commander look at her a bit suprised. "Hmph. I thought by now, everyone knew." Ellyria looks at them confused. "Don't be too shocked, Miss Highwind. I won't bite." Yuan reveals his wings and takes to the air. Ellyria looks at him with amazement, and much curiosity. Soon Brome and Ellyria are right up in the air with him. They take off to the crash sight near New Ozette.

Somewhere near New Ozette...

A world suddenly splashing with color, only to return to darkness blink after blink of the two blurry eyes. Hammers pounding nearby, pain shooting through every limb...

"Ugh..." Grumbled the voice of Raiden Bryant as he sat face down at the bottom of a ravine. The injured and exhausted man strained to turn over--slowly and painfully. Leaves, dirt, and other debris fell off of his body as he finally made it to his back. His vision recovered after a couple of minutes, and he peered up at the dense canopy of the trees above. The forest was so thick, that the sun and sky were almost non-exsistant with the exception of a few rays of sunlight, and spots of color peeking through the trees. Raiden continued to stare at the canopy of trees. His eyes and ears took in every sight, every smell, and every sound. Only today, for some reason, things seemed different to Raiden.

The only sounds that were heard amongst the forest were the autumn winds blew through the it carrying with it the leaves that fell from the trees, and the trickling of the creek and small waterfall nearby. The usual noises of wildlife, and the occasional sound of New Ozette nearby were absent, bringing an unusually quiet ambiance to the otherwise alive forest. It was almost as if the forest itself was in mourning...

Raiden shut his eyes and sighed heavily. He regretted doing that. Every inch of him ached, and even breathing hurt. He was in serious trouble, and couldn't do a thing about it at the present moment. He struggled to remove a small twig that had fallen on his leg. It was itching him, and he just wanted it gone. He removed it seconds later and leaned his head back, slipping into a brief thought.

_'Despite my pain, I was doing okay trying to get to New Ozette.'_ He started as he began thinking back to his walk to the great forest village hidden in the trees. _'My body was weak, but my will was strong like my father.'_ Raiden smiled a bit and continued his thought. _'He was my drive. My reason for continuing amongst my pain and suffering. ...Because... Because I knew he suffered even more than I, in his life. His demons had almost taken him over. They had almost changed him for good. But they didn't, thanks to his friends who believed in him and helped him...'_ Raiden breathed again, and groaned at the pain. He continued his thoughts... it was all he could do at the moment. _'I was going to take my fathers suffering away from him by returning to him... but... how can I? I can't even move... I can hardly breathe...' _

He opened his eyes, and they narrowed, becoming filled with anger and rage. His mind filled with the images of the Tarivians once more. The creatures that nearly killed him. _'Those things... those creatures came... came close to the village. Only one at the time, but I knew there were more waiting--hiding like cowards in the trees. I managed to kill it, and then waited for an onslaught to ensue. I waited for a few minutes, clutching this stick with my life..._' He slowly moved his head and looked at the long stick that had aided him on his excrushiating walk. _'But nothing... No creature, not even the sound of an animal. It was an eerie silence, as this appears to be now...'_ He moves his head around as best as possible to take in the tranquil setting of the mysterious forest, then looked back up. _'I must've simply fallen down here due to my own fatigue...'_ He chuckles rather painfully, and stops soon after. _'My father would never have given in to his physical wounds like this...'_ He took a long breath. _'I don't suppose anyone would find me here... and I'm no good until I recover.'_

Raiden shut his eyes and sighed, snapping out of his thoughts. "Father... I'll make it out of here. Don't worry..." He whispers before he shuts his eyes again, and starts to rest. It was really the only thing he could do.

Meanwhile

"Ah come on! Is that all you things have!" Merlin shouts as he seems to effortlessly take out Tarivian after Tarivian with one trick after another. Lloyd occasionally glanced over at the old man, seeminly jealous of him. Lloyd and Deadin seemed to be having the roughest time with fighting the Tarivians. Physical attacks did almost nothing to the creatures. It was only with critical strikes, tricky movements, or solid teamwork that Lloyd or Deadin could take out several groups at once. The battle had grown intense since they began to fight moments earlier. The number of reinforcements had nearly doubled in size, and eventually, had even trapped Colette and Terra--drawing them right back towards the others. The group was reunited, and were backed against one another. Though Merlin appeared fine, you could tell his magic was waning, as was his strength... Quandy also appeared to be tiring, as did Lloyd and Colette. Terra was in the middle of the four of them, and was huddled over Kratos. She was scared to death, and wanted nothing more than to go home, and forget about all of this. Terra looked around at the chaos at all sides of her. "They're just toying with all of us... we can't win..." She whispers as she clutches Kratos as if hugging him. She thinks for a second. _'Grandpa... I wish you were here... You could make these things go away!'_ She begins to weep as she speaks, and holds him tighter.

After several minutes of continued warfare, with neither group backing down, and the Tarivians with the upperhand... the creatures stop... Much to the suprise of the heroes.

"What in hell? Why are they backing down!" Lloyd shouts with confusion. Quandy gives Lloyd a quick look. "Who cares why! Lets take them out while they've dropped their guard!" Lloyd blinks a few times and nods. "Right!" As they just begin to inch towards the aliens, a strange wind blows through the trees. The sound of flapping echoes around them, and debris stirs. The Tarivians peer up into the sky, and soon Lloyd and the others do as well.

...Winged beasts fill the sky... The "Dragons" if you will, of the Tarivian race. With snout like mouths, two huge hind legs ending in single gigantic talon like claws, a whip like tail with two spikes on the end, and huge razor sharp wings easily spanning ten feet in length or more, over eighty of these big shimmery creatures were in the air. They seemed to be flying towards another destination, and Terra swore she caught sight of a rather unusual alien on the lead creature...

One of the winged monsters in the middle of the large flock caught sight of the battle below, and it dives down towards the small clearing with six others. The flaps of their wings cut right through nearby trees like butter, and Lloyd and the others took cover as debris went flying everywhere. They all land, hiss like snakes, and soon began to feast on the dead Tarivian bodies near them. The heros watched in absolute disgust as all of the dead Tarivians were, for the most part, eaten whole. Some were spat on and burned from the outside in only to be sucked up like juice, while others were merely torn in half... The sounds of their innards and bones were heard crunching and dissolving inside of these new enemies. Terra nearly threw up, and looked away. The sounds eventually made her vomit anyway...

The winged creatures looked around at their fearful, retreating allies. One by one the massive creatures caught them with their long tounges which boared right into the helpless alien's guts. Twisting them and rolling them around, each live Tarivian broke in half, and were swallowed up in two gulps by all seven of the beasts. At this point, Terra had fainted, and Lloyd quickly went to her side.

Once done devouring this army that Lloyd and the others could barely penetrate it seemed, the winged creatures turned their attention to the small group. They hissed again, and stared at them mercilessly. They began to fan out and circle the group. Lloyd swallowed, and took a long worried breath. Deadin eyed the creatures very warily, plotting the groups chances of survival in his mind. Quandy and Merlin also looked at the beasts, trying to think of something. ...But nothing came. No ideas, no tricks, no way out. ...The winged creatures fold in their wings, and crouch down. This situation was very dire indeed...

Two came at the group from all sides, and three creatures suddenly pounced high into the air. All heading straight for at the small group, and hoping for a quick kill, and an easy meal. One single claw on any of those things, and the group would be done for. They'd either be skewered and run through like shishkabob, or simply eaten alive...

"NO!" Lloyd shouts as his life flashes before his eyes...

_'...This place. Again! Why am I here! For what purpose?'_ Once more, Kratos was drawn into the void of his mind. The sounds of intense battle waging in the background, the screams of the victims... corpses that had littered the ground, and even Mithos and Lloyd hovering above him like spectors. All haunted him again, preventing him from acting. Preventing him from waking... He cowered on the blood stained ground, where his own demons appear and begin their assault on him. The sound of a voice however, snaps him from his fears and worries. The demons slowly retreat. _'...Wake up my love, they need you...'_ Whispered the voice of Anna--Kratos' fiancee'. She appeared in between the ghostly forms of Mithos and Lloyd, who were sneering and laughing at Kratos the whole time. The ones who thought they had total control over the mighty warrior. A suprised Kratos looks up at Anna, but bravely stands up. His sword appears in his hand, and he quickly takes to the air to join Anna. At her side, the two look at one another lovingly. _'Go to them... Our son needs you.'_ Kratos nods with out hesitation. _'Thanks to you, and the memories of our son--'_ He glares at the spectors, and holds his sword valiently out in front of him. _'These illusions will haunt me no longer!'_ Anna takes his hand. _'You will always have me Kratos. Remember this...'_ Anna's body dissappears as it did before. Only this time, her light flows into his body. Their spirits were one. ...They were truly joined now. Anger filled Kratos' eyes. _'Be gone!'_ To the shock of the the illusions of Mithos and Lloyd, Kratos quickly puts and end to them without a second thought. Anna speaks from within him. _'Come. Let's go.'_ Kratos nods and shuts his eyes... All goes white...

Light began to pour out of Kratos' seemingly lifeless corpse... A cloud of light filled the sky above this section of forest, clearing away the reddish black tint of the sky above this section. Suddenly, a large beam of light shot down from the cloud, penetrating right through the beasts in a matter of seconds. All but two were instantly erradicated in this attack. The two left alive unfolded their wings and hastfully took to the air, trying to fathom what just happened, as did the heroes on the ground. Lloyd was left completely stunned and dumbfounded as he looked down at Kratos. The man that was suppose to be unconcious, or dead even... He began to breathe heavily, and his heart began to beat wildly as if in a heart attack, or simply hyperventalating. He took one long breath and tried to calm down.

Kratos' eyes opened, and he stared straight at the two hovering beasts. Enraged, they barrelled down at Kratos screeching with a frenzy! Kratos got to his feet for the first time since the Derris-Kharlan incident--to the shock of everyone. Immediately into a spell cast, an insane Thunder Blade put an end to the battle just a few seconds later as both creatures were torn to bits by the furious attack...

"Dad...?" Lloyd said, completely awe struck, and unable to move ...He fainted soon after, joining Terra on the ground.

Kratos Aurion... the angelic human. The hero of both past and present...

...Was alive...

Over the ocean

Yuan stared off into the distance towards New Mizuho, just as him, his commander, and Ellryia approached the crash site. "What was that...?" Brome looked over at the intense light in the distance along with Ellyria, and back then at Yuan. "Investigate sir?"

"Yes." He said with a mixed reaction. They soon changed their course, and were now curiously heading towards wherever that light had come from...

**RP #17 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 3-7-06 **

Anna looked toward the village seeing large creatures in the sky from her protection of the forest. She knew she had to some how get back there but with all the dragonlike creatures she was uncertain even with her teacher's aid to arrive to help.

As she watches a light illuminated from the village, sheilding her eyes as it grew stronger, roaring she and Purrti leaped out to fight the creatures. She had in her hand a dual-bladed pike that was provided by the queen of the Purrdu. Fighting like a crazed animal, Anna cursed the creatures that blocked her way to her friends, she wanted to get to the village, but she was pushed back into the forest once more. But as she stood just under the canopy the creatures vanished, all the energy and magic used, she collapsed in the Purrdu's arms, as a messager headed into the village to let Deadin know that the panther was alive.

**RP #18 - Newtype06. Posted 3-9-06**

Impossible. That was the only word that Deadin Draugdu could summon as he watched Kratos Aurion seemingly resurrect himself and easily decimate the Tarivian dragons. Two hundred plus years of experience had not equipped Deadin with enough superlatives to describe the might of Kratos' return. One dragon almost made it, but was sliced to ribbons by Kratos' onslaught.

Almost distracted, Deadin heard a twig snap nearby. Wheeling about, Deadin barely had time to bring his sword to bear against a burly Tarivian who had engaged the group while Kratos destroyed the dragons. This one was huge, big even by Tarivian standards, with serrated finger blades and a crest of red horns on its brow. Deadin cautiously parried each strike the Tarivian threw at him, noting that this one was not only stronger, but also apparently smarter than the average Tarivian. Careful counter strikes were parried by the Tarivian Elite, and Deadin found himself on the defensive. Kratos lifted his hand, and said something that Deadin could not comprehend.

With an almost incomprehensible speed, something flew out of the town of New Mizuho. Deadin bashed the Elite with a vicious backhand, and risked a glance. Hurtling end over end through the village was a magnificent glowing sword. The blade skipped into Kratos' hands, and seemed to glow even brighter. Kratos stared at Deadin, the Hybrid, for a brief moment, and whispered "That stance, that style…" Deadin almost forgot to block the next strike. Kratos recognized him. This fact barely registered in Deadin's mind before the Kratos felled the Tarivian with one overwhelming strike.

The Hybrid slumped down, and crawled his way to Lloyd and Terra. They had feinted in the confusion. While he was no master healer, Deadin could do something. Finally coming within range of the spell, Deadin closed his eyes and breathed "Nature's Ardor". Green leaves swirled around Lloyd and Terra, mending their cuts and bruises. Lloyd shot up, waking up with a start. "Dad!" Terra was a little slower, brushing dirt and sleepiness from her eyes. However, upon seeing Kratos she quickly got up. Deadin tried to follow suit, but found himself barely staggering to his feet.

"Been neglecting our practices, I see." Kratos said.

"Sh…Shut up Dad! You're the one who was in a coma!" Lloyd shot back.

Kratos opened his mouth to offer some comeback, but was interrupted by Terra suddenly throwing her arms around him. Kratos looked down at the girl hugging him, and then back up at Lloyd. Lloyd smiled."Terra", he offered. Kratos nodded, and smiled as well, returning the embrace. This was his granddaughter, Terra…

Merlin, Quandy, and what was left of Deadin investigated the Tarivian Elite. This one was definitely some type of elite guard or warrior. It had taken Kratos' intervention to defeat just one of them. The three heroes shuddered at the thought of an army of these Elites. Deadin turned about, to the sight of the entire Irving family in one great embrace. Lloyd cried, Terra cried, Colette managed to smile and cry at the same time, and even the ever-stoic Kratos betrayed a sense awkwardness. Deadin waited for the moment to pass, and then spoke. "Kratos Aurion, perhaps you remember me. I am Deadin Dragdu, of Heimdal." Kratos' eyes lit up at the sound of the name.

Deadin could not hear Kratos' response. The hours of endless combat and spell casting finally caught up to him. Deadin Draugdu passed out.

**RP #19 - AngelicAura. Posted 3-14-06**

"Keep fighting!" Aaron yelled.

_The Palmacostan army was succeeding. The Iselians were beginning to weaken. Aaron had tried to keep moral alive, but there was no chance. All that training down the tubes. They had wasted their time._

"What happened to the Mizuhoans? Did they betray us?" Aaron whispered.

-------------------------------------------

Mizuhoan/Ozettian army

"Keep fighting, soldiers!" Sheena demanded.

_On the army's way to Iselia, they had been confronted with the Trietien forces. Triet's army had barely departed when Mizuho attacked them. Of course, with Triet's lack of military training and diligence, they were losing._

"Fight on!" a soldier from Triet shouted.

"I don't think so! Hammer of Godly Thunder, I summon thee!" Sheena chanted.

_A large, living sphere of electricity appeared above the field, and electrocuted all Triet soldiers within a certain range._

"Ha! That's what I like to see!" Sheena cheered.

------------------

"Aaron, Sir, there's been an emergency! Palmacostan military have invaded the city! They're incinerating it!" a soldier reported.

"Oh, for the love of... Alright," Aaron sighed, "Tell Bohem he's in charge until I return!"

_Aaron took off into the crimson-red city. He noticed a rather large change in wind speed, and animals were fleeing away from the ocean._

"I wonder... Yes. Vanim did it." Aaron cheered.

_Aaron was shocked to notice Palmacostan soldiers locking people in burning buildings._

"Those bastards! GALE OF...err...can't do that here. Fine, High Voltage!" Aaron shouted, pointing his blade at the Palmacostan soldiers.

_Out of the tip of the sword, a large ball of electricity, just about .5 times smaller than Volt, fired. It expanded as it flew, and soon encompassed the Palmacostan soldiers. They turned charcoal-colored, and fell to the ground, ashes flying everywhere._

"Regret nothing...regret nothing..." Aaron whispered to himself as he walked over the bodies, and unlocked the building that the Iselian villagers were trapped in.

Aaron continued going through the city, performing his "heroic" acts, as some may call it. Eventually, Palmacostans had fled the city to return to battle. Aaron quickly doused the fires with a Tidal Wave, and returned to battle.

----------------------

Mizuhoan/Ozettians

"Good job, soldiers. Let's keep going. We're almost to Iselia!" Sheena told.

_The soldiers nodded, and took off. _

_Save some of the battle for me, Aaron._

-------------------------------------

"Bohem, what have you done?" Aaron shouted.

"I took control. You gave it to me, remember?" Bohem replied.

"But, you sent them out in hand-to-hand combat, just to be slaughtered by spells and blades. What was the logic behind that? We were perfectly fine playing our game of Hide-and-Fire!" Aaron exclaimed.

"Games are for children. These men should learn the actual thrill of a fight." Bohem explained.

"You have got to be kidding me... Bohem, you're relieved. GET!" Aaron demanded.

_Bohem had a look of complete disgust on his face. _

"For WHAT?"

"For actions unbefitting of a war general. Now, GO!"

_Bohem turned and left, quickly. For some reason, Aaron knew he'd just made a huge mistake._

---------------------------------

Mizuhoans/Ozettians

"Look, you can see the battle! We're finally here! Move on, soldiers!" Sheena cheered.

_All the soldiers looked truly excited. They finally would get to fight. There was no way Iselia would lose with Mizuho behind them._

---------------------------

"Look, to the horizon!" a soldier yelled.

_The whole battle seemed to freeze, as if time had stopped. A hundred men or so appeared on the horizon. The Palmacostans apparently thought it was Triet, and started jeering at the Iselians._

"You're done for now! Time for Palmacosta's revenge! ATTACK!" the Palmacostan general declared.

_The Palmacostans began fighting mercilessly. The Iselians retreated on Aaron's call. They hid behind the rocks, but this time the Palmacostans charged._

"NO! Not a chance!" Sheena yelled. "Hang in there, Aaron! CHARGE MEN!"

_The Mizuhoans charged into battle. It caught the Palmacostans off guard. The Mizuhoans' deadly attacks and swift dodges were a force to be reckoned with._

"I told the people I'd make a ninja clan to be proud of. I've done it, grandfather." Sheena smiled.

"ATTACK!" Sheena and Aaron both shouted at the same time.

_Oddly, though, Sheena remained still. She was on top of a large boulder, and she was suspending a card in midair, and making hand motions. Her mouth appeared to moving._

"Ancient ruler of the elements..." Sheena whispered.

"What is she doing?" Aaron thought aloud.

"MAXWELL! I SUMMON THEE!" Sheena shouted at the top of her lungs. The Palmacostans looked up, and froze with fear. A rain of fire came out of nowhere. They crashed on the ground and exploded. 3/4 of the Palmacosta Navy was destroyed with this attack, and about one half of the soldiers were completely incinerated.

"That's what you get." Sheena panted. She collapsed on the ground, but was still conscious. She began to pull herself back up, and returned to the fight.

"Yeah! Way to go, Sheena!" Aaron complimented.

Then, he saw it. The storm. It appeared above them.

"Vanim, thank you. You've guaranteed a victory. I owe you one." Aaron breathed.

_It began to rain heavily. Thunder and lightning stormed down on the ground. This was his chance. Aaron ran to the ocean, dodging attacks from various soldiers, and avoiding all spells and cannon fire from the ships. He dived into the ocean, and swam out to the deeper water he could get to and still be able to touch the ground. He raised his two blades, and put them together. A giant lightning bolt struck the swords, but Aaron had insulated the handles so it didn't hurt him._

"GALE OF DESTRUCTION!" Aaron chanted, in a trance. His eyes turned a bright green. This sometimes happened when he casts his Storm spells.

_Suddenly, the wind grew strong. It started up several water spouts, picking up anything in their path._

"LIGHTNING OF JUDGMENT!" Aaron chanted, again. His eyes slowly turned a dark orange.

_Lightning that made day return to the darkened war zone rained down on the remaining warships. They burst into ivory-colored flames._

"WRATH OF THE OCEAN!" Aaron chanted, for the last time. His eyes turned a deep blue this time.

_A large wave swelled in the ocean, and swept up on land, eroding the land it hit like acid. It swept the remaining Palmacostan soldiers into the ocean, pulling them into a whirlpool of pain and tormenting death. The undertow pulled the men underwater, and they would slowly drown in the whirlpool. Aaron's eyes turned their natural color of light blue with silver. He used a Spread spell to launch him into the air, and created a cushion of air to land on. He had finished off the Palmacostan Navy. The Iselian and Mizuhoan army had reached a feat nobody else had before ever. Then, he noticed...just below half of the soldiers had died._

"Oh...That...No..." Aaron sighed, putting his swords back into their sheaths.

"Aaron, it's alright. Lives have to be sacrificed if you want to win. I'll get my men to bury them for you." Sheena said.

"Alright..." Aaron agreed.

_He looked up slowly. The village was partially in ashes. Apparently, Iselia had won the battle, but Palmacosta had won the war... At least what was started of it._

"I'm going to talk to the War General." Aaron stated.

Sheena nodded. Aaron walked off.

_Aaron requested that Iselia declared war upon Palmacosta while talking with the War General. Also, the War General agreed to find more people to accompany the Iselian army. He requested that the Mizuhoan and Ozettian forces remain in Iselia until the reconstruction of the city was completed. Sheena humbly agreed._

**RP #20 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 3-15-06**

From the ocean waves rose several hundred forms, ahead of them a high priestess, Vanim. The water rose in great swells about the ships with carefree ease, washing away careless sailors and solders alike to be butched alive in the water by the creatures of the sea. Several Merwoman riding what look like horses save with fins, ranging from the multidude colors of the sea as the narwhale riders bashed against the ship ripping holes in the hulls as the ships attempted to return to the sea only to be ripped apart by the large swells, The merfolk had joined the land dwellers as the fight progressed as things quieted down, they vanished back into the ocean leaving vertially no trace of their presence as their flukes vanish below the waves.   
Vanim rose on a large wave, touching the shore, and began walking toward where Aaron and Sheena might be located followed by the soldier of the sea to aid the land dwellers as needed. Vanim bowing elegantly as she appouched Aaron.

Vanim: As you so requested indicating the merarmy that was partly in the ocean and out of the ocean


	10. Aftermath

**RP #1 - Newtype06. Posted 3-15-06**

Darkness. Deadin could not comprehend exactly where he was. The last thing he remembered was talking to Kratos. _Kratos…_ It had been almost a two hundred years since Deadin last saw him. The two swordsmen had met one rainy day in late summer. Kratos had been curt with Deadin, and the young Elf had taken offense. Harsh words were spoken, and swords were brandished. Deadin put up a surprisingly good fight, lasting almost a minute against the seasoned master. That was the first day of a remarkable and profitable partnership. Kratos saw potential in the Elf, and Deadin saw wisdom in the human. Together the two delved into the mysteries of swordplay, creating and perfecting a new technique: the Paragon Thrust.

The Darkness stirs. Was Deadin being carried? Feeling begins to return to the Hybrid's fingers. Waking up, Deadin notices that he is being carried easily over the shoulder of a man in red. Shaking his head to clear his vision, Deadin attracts the man's attention.

"Oh. You're awake." said a garbled, distorted voice.

"So it seems." Deadin replied. The voice seemed very familiar, but Deadin could not place it.

"Since you passed out, we've made great progress. There are only a few pockets of resistance left." Deadin blinked several times, noticing a pair of sword sheaths belted to the hips below him. Lloyd. He was being carried by Lloyd. Deadin stirred.

"Thank you Master Irving, but I believe I can stand now." Deadin said, and found himself being carefully lowered to his feet. The sun was casting its lightest glare over the horizon. Still slightly shaky, Deadin leaned up against a nearby building. A building. Apparently, it was safe to enter the village once more.

"How did we fare?" Deadin asked, not sure if he truly wanted to hear the answer.

"Well, we got hit hard. Much of Mizuho has been destroyed. Thankfully, most of the women, children, and old folks made it to safety. As for the warriors…Well let's say this battle is going down in the history books." Lloyd closed his eyes and sighed. "We figure that about half the warrior population that stayed here is either dead or wounded. Quandy's Ozette forces were hit hard too, but without them there would have been no survivors at all. Merlin and Quandy are up at the front now, finishing off the last hundred or so that we've cornered."

"And what of Terra?" Deadin asked.

"Oh, she'll be alright. She's with Colette right now, organizing the refugees, and helping put out the last of the fires. By the way, a messenger came for you while you were out. He said the Anna was alive."

Deadin had to grab hold of the building to keep his legs from falling out from under him.

"And where is Kratos?"

"Oh, well he kinda drifts everywhere. Every once in a while you'll see him at the front lines tearing into a group of Tarivians, but then you'll see him later, helping the refugees."

"Incredible…"

"Anyways, feel free to make yourself useful in any way you can. But don't push yourself. You've been out for a while now." Lloyd gave one last nod to Deadin, and ran off in the direction of the fading sounds of battle. Deadin knew he could go as well, but decided instead to check on his charge. The Hybrid took a moment to find Lady Terra's scent. It was unusually difficult. Sifting through the blood, the sweat, the embers, and the flames, Deadin finally landed on Terra's scent a few hundred yards away. The Hybrid took off in search of his charge, the sounds of battle diminishing to nothing.

**RP #2 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 3-15-06**

Anna slowly opened her eyes, to the dimness of the forest, the sound of battle over, she lowly sat up to find several Purrdu standing around talking with the humans and helping them as they needed. A nurse came over to check on her and informed the message to her friend was sent. Anna nods feeling tired but hungery but she is more worried about the group in the village until the Queen of the Purrdu walks up and sits next to her to inform her that she is now part of the clan. She is welcome to come anytime and that her friends were fine just that they are in the clean up stage in the village. The queen urges Anna to rest some more, then departs vanishing amoung the trees. Anna then remembered that she saw Deadin in his werewolf form and then remembered her father's words, laying back down, she drifted back to an uneventful slumber.

**RP #3 - SuperSonic88. Posted 3-17-06**

Salan looked around. The scene wasn't pretty, but he knew it could be a lot worse. The corpses of those...things were everywhere.  
"Oh man, I knew there were a lot of those things, but damn..." He noticed a few other of the warriors were tending to the wounded.   
"Not really my style to get involved in this sorta thing, but this scene reminds me too much of...Ozette...""Hey!" he called to his newfound comrades in arms. "Anything I can help you guys with?"

**RP #4 - Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine. Posted 3-20-06**

About two days later, Anna and Purrti head the the camp around the village, hoping to find somone of the group she was with. Her fur was better but was still ragged in places still from the fire. She went to look for Lloyd to find out what their next move was. From the queen of the Purrdu, she recieved a magical item that she was to give to the leader of the group... though she never really knew who the true leader was or if they just shared the responsiblity. Purrti asked questions about the humans that Anna had traveled with and if they would accept her and if the creature was part of the group. Anna responded that she too was a crossbreed, she felt accepted without prejudges from the group she was with. Purrti merely smiled to herself and they entered the village as the stars in the sky began to light the night sky

**RP #5 - Newtype06. Posted 3-23-06**

The Hybrid walked the semi-deserted streets of New Mizuho. Much was in shambles, but the industrious Mizuhoans were already beginning to rebuild their shattered city. Ducking into an alley, Deadin reverted to his Elven form. These people had already seen enough over the course of the night. No need to scare them any further. Deprived of his powerful senses, Deadin set off in the direction he last detected Terra.

A few minutes later, the battle-scarred elf came upon one of the many refugee columns. Standing there, helping an elderly man walk over a pile of rubble, was Terra. She wiped a few specks of dirt and sweat off her brow, and turned to Deadin, waving. The Elf found himself returning the gesture, and quickened his pace. Nearing Terra, Deadin spotted someone else. Someone equally familiar. That someone was Kratos Aurion.

_186 Years earlier…_  
It was raining. It always seemed to rain at this time of the year. Heimdall was always interesting in the rain. If there was anything the elves held a passion for, it was the rain. It rescues the parched earth, makes it grow, and in turn the waters of the earth rise to become rain. To the elves, rain represented the true harmony they all longed to obtain. Rain nursed those in despair, and then returned to its heavenly post.

However, the two men on the bridge were not thinking of the rain.

The first one spoke. "Why are you here!"

The second remained silent.

"Answer me, human! Why are you here?"

Finally the second man spoke. "I do not see the need to introduce myself to you, elf."

"You will regret this!" The Elf screamed, the sound of a sword being drawn piercing the rain's constant patter.

The second man crossed his arms at his chest, sighed, and then drew his own sword. No sound could be heard.

The battle lasted for the better part of thirty seconds. The Elf, overconfident in his abilities, charged recklessly into the human's defenses. The two swords skipped and sang, the two swordsmen behind them conducting an odd music. The Elf panted, and tried one last risky strike. With effortless ease, the human parried the sword, and with a flick of the wrist, disarmed the Elf. The Elf's broadsword splashed in the river under the bridge.

Deadin Draugdu fell backwards, landing in a small puddle. He was defeated. The Elf, soaked to the bone, looked up at the human who had so easily bested him. The human looked down at Deadin, sheathed his sword, and extended a purple-gloved hand.

"Now you have certainly earned my introduction. I am Kratos."

New Mizuho….

Deadin looked at Kratos, and Kratos in turn looked Deadin in the eye. The two swordsmen knew the routine.

Deadin spoke first. "Why are you here!"

Kratos chuckled, but nevertheless remained silent.

Deadin couldn't keep himself from smiling. "Answer me, human! Why are you here!"

The old comrades could not maintain the charade any longer. Deadin stepped forward and clasped hands with his old mentor. A long time had passed since Deadin and Kratos had studied together in Heimdall.

Deadin began first. "It's been almost a hundred and seventy five years since you left, old friend. What have you done to yourself now?"

Kratos shrugged, unable to find the words.

Shaking his head, Deadin continued. "As you undoubtedly noticed last night, I have changed, in more ways than one. About five years after you left, I went out to our old training area in the Ymir Forest. Something, however, beat me there. It was a Ymirian Werewolf. I fought very well, considering the foe, and inflicted a mortal wound upon my enemy, but in the end, it ran off, hopefully to die in agony. As for myself, I was bitten in several areas, and was too far away from Heimdall to receive proper healing. The rest is a brief story with a simple outcome: I was banished from Heimdall, a threat to myself and my people."

Kratos was sitting now, arms crossed. Deadin drew his sword and whetstone, sitting opposite of Kratos. The two friends talked of old battles, lost friends, and of other various things for the remainder of the morning. Terra, meanwhile, escorted the various refugees about the area, occasionally passing by the old warriors, picking up parts of their conversation

"…Training, for she…" Deadin mumbled.

"…gon Thrust…Do you think she will be ready for it?" Kratos replied.

The two swordsmen simultaneously looked up, catching the young eavesdropper.

Deadin spoke first. "Come Terra, and sit down. We have much to talk about." Before Terra could do so, a strikingly clean man intercepted her. Unlike every other refugee, this man wore no Mizuhoan garb, and was not covered by the soot and other remnants of the battle. The man stepped up to Terra, inclining his head in a curt nod.

"Miss, I am looking for a Lloyd Irving. I am told you are his daughter."

Deadin and Kratos stood, readying themselves in secret.

Terra seemed surprised, but overcome it quickly. "Yeah, he's my dad. What's up?"

"Greetings Terra Irving. I am Murray, part of the Iselian Insurance Company. What with the attacks, our office has been swamped with requests. Your family holds an estate out in the forest, correct?"

Terra nodded.

"Well, it seems there might be some damage to the house there. I was wondering if I could speak to your father personally."

Terra turned around to Deadin and shrugged. Deadin nodded, and found a dark alley to transform in. Shifting to his Hybrid form, Deadin felt a presence that had been subdued for quite some time: the Beast. Putting his baser half aside, Deadin locked his nose onto Lloyd's scent, placing him at the house the Irving's had been staying at. With his traditional stuttering of "Perfect Beast", Deadin slipped back into his Elven form, and rejoined Terra.

"He is back at the house, Lady Terra." Deadin said.

Terra motioned for Murray to follow her, and led the way to her temporary home, Deadin and Kratos in tow.

Upon reaching the hut, Terra went inside. A few moments later, she emerged with Lloyd. Murray stepped forward, bowing to Lloyd.

"Greetings Master Irving. I'm with the Iselian Insurance Company, and we need to talk in private."

Lloyd nodded, gesturing the man inside. Terra, Deadin, and Kratos spent several worrisome minutes outside, until finally Lloyd emerged.

"We're leaving. Your mother will catch up with us soon."

Stunned, Terra walked to her obviously distressed father. "What's wrong Dad?"

"There's a lot of damage everywhere. Iselia, Triet, and especially here. These companies need people to check the damages, and, if necessary, rebuild. There's gonna be a lot of work to do. That guy, Murray, he and his partner are here to ask anyone who can help to assist in Iselia and Triet. I have a feeling some of the others will be asked to join the relief effort. But for us, we are going to Iselia, to check up there."

Lloyd made his way to the town square, looking for a familiar face. Spotting his quarry, Lloyd made his way to the prominent man with red hair. Deadin recognized him immediately as Zelos Wilder, the land's most notorious ladies man. Having lived in Tethe'alla for most of his life, Deadin was well acquainted with the Chosen's exploits.

Lloyd spoke. "Hey Zelos. Have you heard about the Reconstruction efforts?"

The red-haired chosen smiled his trademark big goofy grin, and said "Yep. Me and some of the others were just going to head out. We were going to go to Triet, in hopes of fixing the trail of carnage, destruction, and utter chaos that my little warrior chief left behind her. Man, those kind of women are so…" Zelos trailed off, noticing Terra, Deadin, and Kratos. "Oh! Sorry. Lost myself there. Anyways, I heard about what you did for Terra, Deadin. Thanks a bunch. And Kratos is back! Well, if it isn't one great big family reunion. " Zelos flashed his big grin again. _Not much has changed in only twenty years,_ Kratos sighed.

A few hours later, Terra and Lloyd stood at their Rheiards, checking the last of their equipment. Deadin and Kratos stood by silently, unable to ask the question on both their minds. Terra seemed to understand, and leaned over to Lloyd. "Hey Dad, can we take them along?" she said. Lloyd hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded. "Sure, I can't see why not."

A few minutes later, Kratos stepped onto the Rheiard with Lloyd, and Deadin sat behind Terra. The Elf and Kratos had a plan, one that would work perfectly in the forests outside Iselia. Deadin clutched the small bag he had packed in the short time they had. He hoped that the hastily written message to Anna reached her, and that the Reconstruction of Mizuho went off well. As for him, he was off to Iselia, to begin the greatest task of his life. Deadin knew that the fate of many rested on what he and Kratos could accomplish, and just hoped that they could complete their task before it was too late.

The wind rippled through Deadin's hair as the Rheiard took flight. With surprising ease, Terra put the craft through its motions, and soon they were on their way to Iselia.

**RP #6 - Dragoon Taryn. Posted 3-24-06**

Three figures stood in front of the warn-torn Mizuho, watching the survivors of the battle try to begin rebuilding their city.

"We seem to be late," Brome remarked to Yuan, "The fighting's over."

Yuan said nothing, but simply nodded his head in agreement.

Ellyria peered out at the citizens from her position behind Yuan. "Those poor people. Mizuho may have skilled ninjas, but I doubt any kind of training could have prepared them for those... _things_."

"Indeed. It's a miracle they survived at all," Brome said.

"I wonder how they did survive..." Yuan mumbled to himself, then turned to Brome. "Brome, head back to the headquarters. Something tells me those creatures will strike again sometime, and we'll need every Renegade ready for when it happens."

"Yes sir!" Brome replied, saluting before heading back to his Rheiard.

"H-hey! What about me?" Ellyria interrupted, pointing at herself for emphasis.

"Miss Highwind, you'll stay with me. We should discover how Mizuho managed to win this previous battle."

"Um, but... how will I..." Ellyria turned bright red at the thought of being carried back to Asgard by Yuan.

Yuan gave her a puzzled look. "Miss Highwind, are you all right?"

"Yes!" Ellyria replied a little too loudly, " I was just thinking, um, that Miss Highwind sounds too formal."

Yuan shook his head and chuckled. "All right then, _Ellyria_, let us see if we can find someone in charge, hmm?"

Ellyria turned red again. "R-right!"

A brief inquiry of the citizens of Mizuho led the pair to Zelos Wilder, the supposed "guy in charge". Ellyria's eyes narrowed. Although she had lived in Sylvarant all her life before the world merger, she did hear all sorts of rumors during her travels about the red-headed Chosen.

She grabbed Yuan's arm and gave it a slight tug. "Hey, I've heard about this guy. You know him too, right? From twenty years ago. He's not going to hit on me or anything, is he? I can't deal with that." As if to prove it, Ellyria turned slightly red.

Yuan laughed. "Miss High... Ellyria, just do what everyone else does and ignore him."

"Says you," Ellyria muttered as she followed Yuan.

Zelos had a goofy grin on his face as Ellyria and Yuan approached. "Well well, if it isn't our _other_ favorite Kharlan hero. Too bad you weren't here a little while ago, you missed one of your old friends."

Yuan startled at the Chosen's comment, his eyes wide. "Kratos? He was here?"

"Kratos? You mean one of the hero Lloyd's companions from twenty years ago!" Ellyria cut in.

"One and the same. He headed to Iselia with Lloyd, Terra, and Deadin." Zelos rubbed the back of his head, "Don't know what those guys have planned, but if you plan on following them, they shouldn't be too far ahead of ya."

Yuan spun around and started to head out of the village, with Ellyria running to catch up, and leaving an annoyed Zelos behind, whining, "What, no thank you, no good-bye? I can see you haven't changed a bit."

"Hey! Hey Yuan, wait up!" Ellyria called out.

Yuan continued to look and move forward. "If Kratos _is_ back, then something bigger must be going on here. Stay here, Miss Highwind."

"No way! I'm going with you!" Ellyria cried out, as she jumped out, throwing her arms around Yuan's neck, clinging to him from behind.

As soon as it happened, Ellyria jumped back and turned about twenty different shades of red in under two seconds. "I mean, um, you might need me, and my abilities! What if you run into one of those _things_ on the way there?" she stammered, holding her hands up to her cheeks to cover her embarrassment.

Yuan looked at her and sighed. "All right then Miss Hi... Ellyria. Let's see if Mr. Wilder has a Rheiard that you can use."

Ellyria clapped her hands together and hopped from one foot to the other. "All right! We're off to Iselia!"

**RP #7 - Tizar Huine. Posted 3-25-06**

As Anna and Purrti entered the village, she watched as Deadin left on the Rheiard with some else, sighing she went in search of someone of the group that she left her forest with as she and Purrti came upon someone, looking confused, she approuched the man as he turned, he saw two large felines, placing his hand on his sword.

Anna: I come in peace, I am Anna.

: Were you with the group that was at this village?

Anna: Yes, human, we assisted in the battle... though I fear that this is only the beginning...

: I am Salan looking at the Purrdu, who stood beside Anna then back at Anna You look like you are part elf

Anna: I am...

**RP #8 - Newtype06. Posted 3-26-06**

The wind ruffled through Deadin's hair, stinging his eyes. They had been flying for nearly an hour now, and were making a steady beeline for Iselia, or what was left of it. Deadin's right hand clutched the small leather bag that he had filled before leaving. The contents, seemingly random and pointless to the untrained eye, had so many uses to Deadin. A small bell, a line of rope, a clay bowl, and four round spheres were just some of the miscellaneous items that Deadin held in his bag. Deadin's left hand clutched the hilt of his sword. Deadin ran his hand down the worn handle. He had used this blade for almost twenty years. Retirement beckoned to the worn blade.

Looking up, Deadin was caught up in a swirl of brown-gold hair, as Terra continued to pilot the Rheiard. Seeing Terra in her element spurred Deadin on even further. A time would come when his blade and his bag would help Terra again. Deadin sighed, and looked outwards. Lloyd and Kratos were taking the lead, pushing the aged craft ahead. As Lloyd labored behind the controls, Kratos sat cross-legged on the back end, in deep thought. Deadin could only ponder what his old friend was thinking about.

Looking down towards the ground, Deadin marveled at the expansive plain that they were just passing over. Somehow, Deadin's thoughts turned to Anna, and to the letter he wrote. Deadin barely had had enough time to scribble out what he wanted to say, but was sure that Anna would get the message. Even now, he could picture her reading it, taking in every word…

"_Dear Anna, I hope this letter finds you well. I have left with Lady Terra to help rebuild Iselia. I have spoken with Kratos, and he agrees that Terra's sword training will begin there as well. I may be gone for quite some time. I just want you to know that my memory of you, my feelings for you kept me safe, kept me sane during the battle. Even when I lost control, I could cling to your memory. It is that memory that will keep me safe on my travels. All I ask is that you remember me as well. Sincerely, Deadin Draugdu"_

Deadin smiled. He could only wonder what Anna's reaction would be. Deadin normally wasn't this frank when it came to himself. Often the Elf found the forest more comforting than other people. However, something about Anna's condition, something about her similarities to Deadin interested him. She was a melding of the Elven heritage and the creature of the forest, just like he was. She was independent and trustworthy, just like he was. Deadin counted her among the few people he trusted. Deadin hadn't always been so selective in his friends, however. There once was a time when he was carefree. That all changed one day.

_170 years ago…_

"Deadin, son of Falin, do you know why you have been brought before this council?"

The black haired, clean-shaven elf standing before the half dozen elders nodded. Deadin was well aware of why he was there. He had been ratted out.

The Head Elder spoke again. "Charges have been levied against you, claiming that you have been infected by the monsters outside our borders. Corroborating that tale are the attacks that have been plaguing this village. What say you in your defense?"

Deadin sighed, rattling the chains that bound his hands and feet to a chair. "I have no excuse, nor explanation. I do not feel I need to explain myself."

The elders, slightly miffed by Deadin's response, grumbled amongst themselves for a while. Deadin sat down into the uncomfortable chair that had been provided to him, and awaited his sentencing. He could feel it return, the strange presence that seemed to fill his mind. Only twice before had Deadin noticed it since his infection. With it's coming, Deadin knew what to expect. Even now, his rage, his passionate thirst for blood welled up. One of the elders was leaning over to talk to another Wiseman. Deadin noticed his jugular throb with each heartbeat. Even now, Deadin could see himself feasting on the remains of the Council. Even now, he could hear the voice…

_Show no mercy! Kill them all! They hate you because you are a heartless beast, and you know they are right! Give in to me, and I will solve your problems, Deadin. I can give you a meaning, a reason to live your life. Together we shall bask in the boundless slaughter! We shall -_

"Deadin, son of Falin, stand and hear your fate." the elder said.

Shaken out of his temptation, Deadin stood.

The Head Elder spoke. "We find you unsuitable to live in our borders. You are hereby exiled from Heimdall, effective immediately."

The words hit Deadin like a pile of bricks. He was denied Retribution. Exiled, he would never find his betrayer; never find the one who discovered his secret. Deadin was angry. As one of the guards stepped forward to unchain Deadin, the Elf sprang up, pulling the chains taut.

"Exile me if you must! But first let me look upon the face of my betrayer!"

The council looked amongst themselves for a moment. Deadin came from an influential family, which had supplied several council members in the past. Finally, the Head Councilman nodded, gesturing to one of the guards. Deadin was unlocked, and forced to sit in his chair again.

The Head Councilman spoke. "Seeing as how we never leave the village, and how you will never enter here again, we find no problem in showing you your accuser." The council member looked at the guard again. "Bring him in!"

A thin, sallow-faced elf entered, drawing Deadin's attention. "Gaur…You did this!" Deadin said, looking up at the Elf. Gaur chuckled, green eyes betraying a hint of pleasure. "Come now Deadin, you don't think I'd just sit around with the knowledge I had and just wait for you to kill someone. You've already seriously hurt eight people, Deadin, and old Ceredor might die within the week. I had to do something…"

Deadin growled, baring his already wolfish teeth. "There's no proof I did any of that!" Gaur just shrugged. "Are you suggesting that there is another Wolf in this village? I think not. Goodbye, Deadin." Gaur turned and left, limping slightly.

The Councilman looked at the guards, pointing at Deadin. "Get him out of my sight. Throw him out of the village. The penalty for returning is death!"

Deadin snapped awake, noticing that he was back on the Rheiard with Terra. Deadin's hands quickly found his sword and his bag, clutching onto the two things that still held him in this world: his honor, and his responsibility.

**RP #9 - cepussinboots. Posted 3-26-06**

Merlin and Quandy looked around the destroyed village, watching as the many villagers and soldiers began to rebuild it. Merlin lead Quandy into a small hut, and Quandy sat down onto a table, while Merlin examined his wounds.

"Looks like you've got a mild break in your kneecap," Merlin said "and then you have a broken collar bone, and a deep cut, thats right into the bone, down you right arm"

Quandy sighed, then looked up chuckling, "Ah well, what can you do for it old man?"

Merlin raised his staff, "It's quite simple actually, all i have to do is cast a simple healing spell" Merlin muttered some words from under his breath, and then a blue aura covered Quandy's body, healing and sealing all of the wounds he had recieved in battle.

Quandy looked down, "Those words, they sound so familiar"

Merlin looked slightly uneasy, "That's because," He began "Its a spell... that was created to work on those with... Demonic Blood in them"

Quandy jumped up, knocking the table over and throwing the old wizard against a wall. "How did you find out? How long have you known?"

Merlin stood up, slightly shaken. "i've known since i saw you fight, right after that man died. I had a feeling that you were the Meditator, and as for the demonic blood inside you. Well, i too come from the land you come from, and since i have been alive, i have heard all sorts about you. But to meet in the same place, well, that was something i could never have predicted"

Quandy sighed, and sat back down, but this time on the floor. "I'm, ashamed" he whispered "I, didn't want anyone to know. I don't want to be banished. Thats why, well... thats why i left the old country"

Merlin laughed, "Is that so? Well, having once known your predecessor, i would like to see how you fair up in a fight, against someone of your own level"

Quandy clutched his fist in anger. "You knew Xzam?" he asked.

Merlin sat down next to Quandy "It was a long time ago now..."

_A long time ago... _

_A man was standing in the middle of a Dark Room. It looked magnifficent even without light. The man was quite old, but had a long brown beard, a balding head, and he held a golden staff. It was the Merlin of a couple of the past. _

_"I know your in here" The Man yelled. "Show yourself" _

_A white light moved across the walls, but then back into the shadows. The Brown haired Quandy turned around, looking for the room. _

_"Show Yourself," Merlin again yelled. "In the name of the great king, i order you to show youself to me" _

_Again, the bright light moved around the room, un noticed by the wizards eye. It jumped out to the front of Merlin, and he noticed it. _

_"The bodyless Meditator" Merlin unsheathed his sword "So you decided to show up" _

_The light in front of Merlin got brighter, until it morphed up into the shape of a human, and drew a large sword, similar to that of which the present Quandy uses. The humanoid spoke, with a slight hiss. "Ssso, you dare challenge the dark one?" It hissed as it finished the sentance. _

_"Xzam!" The great Wizard spoke. "Never before did i think my sword would clash with that of the Sword of Eternal Life. But now, it is my duty, as the Sacred Guardian of Sak'rath, to seal evil ones as you ito the shadow realm." _

_The creature gave off a laughing hiss. "You ssserioussssly believe that you can get away with harming another meditator?" _

_Merlin coughed. "You are the Dark Meditator though, so this time it is different." Merlin jumped back, and raised his sword and staff at Xzam "besides, that wasn't me who harmed your teacher, it was my father" _

_Merlin jumped at the Dark Shadow, and the two swords clashed, neither one prevailing. Multiple strikes where ensued, until Merlins sword was thrown to the floor. Merlin took some heavy blows to his body, and was thrown back against the floor. The Dark Meditator moved towards Merlin, and started casting a spell. a few seconds past, and Xzam yelled "DIVINE JUDGEMENT" This spell smacked Merlin head on, destroying the bottom half of Merlins body, leaving him with only his top half. _

_"Sssee, i told you there wassss no way it would work! Hisss" Xzam laughed. _

_"Not if i have anything to do with it" Merlin muttered, and grabbed his golden staff that was behind him. _

_"GREAT GOD OF SAK'RATH, I CALL YOU, LEND ME YOUR POWER, AND TRAP THIS EVIL FIEND. SEND HIM TO THE SHADOWS." The staff glew, and a stone appeared in the middle of the room. "this is it" Merlin whispered. "ETERNAL DAMNATION" He yelled, and the staff shattered turning into thousands of pieces that threw themselves at Xzam, and started sucking him inside the stone. _

_"Thisss can't be happening, this isssn't happening. No, noooooo" Xzam gasped as he was trapped inside the stone. _

_Merlin collapsed on the floor. "i just hope someone finds me" he whispered, and then he fell unconcious._

"and then, we buried him where you found him" Merlin said to Quandy, who was looking quite shocked.

"I see" Quandy said, and stood up. "Excuse me, but i think i need time to think"

Quandy left the room, and walked around Mizuho for a while. Talking about Xzam had made him think of Alex, the girl who Xzam had killed. He sat down, and tried to feel sad. But he couldn't. Nothing seemed right. Having no soul, was like having no life, and it was, having no feelings. Quandy watched as a man with blue hair, and another girl mounted some Rehiards and flew off. He watched people rebuilding the village. He came to the attention of a small girl. She was standing with her mother, as they grieved over the loss of her father, the only thing is, she didn't understand what was happening. She was crying, while asking "Mommy, why are they burying daddy? Mommy? Mommy, whats going on? Mommy?"  
He continued looking around. So many sad things, but he just couldn't cry. What was wrong with him. He had chosen no soul, but he regreted it deeply. Again his attention came across a man, grieving for the loss of his loved one.

"Alex" the man was saying. "Alex... why? why?"

Quandy looked down at the ground. He wasn't sure how or why it was happened, but... he cried.

**RP #10 - Tizar Huine. Posted 3-27-06**

After reading the letter, Anna felt abandoned again, even if he wasn't meaning to do so it but she felt confused by the emotion, she had only known him only briefly, yet the feelings of abandonment surfaced. She was 10 years old again with no one to turn to no safe place to go. Just as these feeling surfaced, Anna felt someone touch her shoulder, comfortingly shaking out of her her flashback that never really started, as her mind refocused, Purrti was standing there.

Purrti: He cares for you otherwise, he wouldn't have told you. You are not that 10 year old that everyone threw away. I am here. The Purrdu of the forest here are your family... these humans have accepted you, even if some of them aren't human...

Anna merely nodded with tears in her eyes, she will remember Deadin's friendship. Solan stood looking confused by the events


	11. Reconstruction

**RP #11 - Tizar Huine. Posted 4-03-06**

Purrti decided it was best for now to return to the Purrdu village, to better equip Anna for her journey and battles to come, after speaking with the group leader of the humans, Anna and Purrti left and vanished into the depths of the forest. As the emerged from the darkness into the light of the village, Purrti took Anna to the village armory and weapons shop.

**RP #12 - Tizar Huine. Posted 4-05-06**

As Purrti and Anna entered the small quaint forest village that was blended in up among the trees just out of sight unless you knew where you were looking. Anna looked around in awe at the handmade structures as Purrti pointed out each structure and explained how the huts were part of nature as well. As they entered the village, children ran the gauntlet of swinging bridges playing as some a sentries watched the entrance nodding to Purrti and Anna as they walked. As Purrti led Anna to a hut that was hers to prepare for the journey that lay ahead. Purrti's extended family lived not more then one wall away.

**RP #13 - Tizar Huine. Posted 4-12-06**

As Anna looked at the armour especally made of the Purrdi, Purrti made sure that each item both worked as protection and also enhanced her appearance as well. After sending what seemed like 4 hours in the armoury. They went to the weapons shop to exam some weapons, that Purrti could teach Anna to use as they traveled if Purrti was permitted to travel with the group.

**RP #14 - Tizar Huine. Posted 4-14-06**

As the mermaid, Venin, watched the humans discuss their next move, she went back to the coast to speak with the merpeople's army. They waited just off the coast waiting for intructions. She told them to remain close but not too close to shore to keep an eye out for ships out to sea either above, below or flying above and to give warning. She then returned to the city to await the people which needed her medical attention.

**RP #15 - White Rose. Posted 4-19-06**

Mizuho, Iselia, and even her own home now... All were attacked...

As the four made their way to the Iselia-Triet border, Terra looked around her at the world above and below. Gradually, hues of blues were being seemingly replaced with hues of greys, reds, oranges, and black...

Black. The color of darkness. A sign of death and despair... Terra's eyes narrowed as she continued to look around. She swallowed a few times as she was being absorbed in this new, bleak atmosphere around her. She started to shudder a bit as if terrified. Tears began to weld up in her eyes, and she lowered her head a bit. Sniffling for a moment, she took her sleeve up to her face, and wiped it as some tears wrestled lose. Catching the attention of Lloyd and Kratos, the two turned their head towards her. "Ter--" Lloyd was about to speak when Deadin eyed him, then closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head some. Kratos continued to stare at Terra. The young girl whom had clinged to him just moments earlier in the forest where he first awoke and somehow fought off those who threatened his family... His eyes narrowed some. He had a granddaughter... The thought hit him like a ton of bricks and he sighed. Lloyd glanced over his shoulder. "What's up?" Kratos snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Lloyd. "N--nothing. Don't worry about it." Lloyd smiled slyly. "You know, when you say something like that, it makes me worry. I remember what happened the last few times you told me that..." Kratos glances at him for a moment. "It's nothing. Focus on getting us to Iselia, Lloyd." Lloyd shakes his head a bit and turns his head back towards the front of him. "Whatever." He sighs. Kratos turns back to Terra, and slips into a thought. _'Tarivians... The same things that attacked me on Derris-Kharlan...'_ He sighs a bit frustrated--mostly at himself, and continues his thought. _'I was completely powerless against them.'_ He hangs his head for a moment and looks at Lloyd. He soon starts to think back to his final day aboard the floating comet called Derris-Kharlan, the cruxis stronghold.

Smoke, clouds, dust and debris everywhere... A monsterous army engulfs a crumbling world, relentlessly searching for two powerful artifacts. Books of ultimate power and destruction.

The Necronomicon. A book that can fill a mortal being with pure hatred, and the strength of gods.

The Book of the Underworld. Or, more widely known as Nilfheim... A world so ravaged with evil, it may as well be called hell itself. Or close to it...

With this, Kratos begins to reenact the events he had gone through. Speaking only to his mind.

_'I was working to rid Derris-Kharlan of Exspheres, as usual. It was an everyday, ardgeous process with no end in sight. There were thousands of exspheres all over this world. Powering everything, and hiding from my sight in the smallest of cracks and crevices. The routine was mundane, but my commitment to the safety of my son and his future kept me going.' _

_'...It was the one promise I vowed everyday to uphold, even when I just wanted to end it all...' _

_'I knew I could at any time, but Lloyd once told me that I was important to him. That my life... had meaning... Whether those words were out of respect, or maybe... spoken out of love...--' _

Kratos snapped out of his thought, and felt his heart tighten inside of him. His face became mixed with different emotions as he stared at Lloyd, questioning what the now fully grown Lloyd really thought of him on the inside... then, with some hesitation, he hung his head. Casting his eyes to the earth below, he delved into thought again. _'Whatever the case was, I knew I had a job to do. His words finalized my decision. A decision, though deeply painful to me, was the right one... And the sad truth was... we both knew it.' _

Kratos looked at Lloyd once more. A rain drop hit his nose, distracting him from his thinking. He diverts his attention to the sky above, which was filling up fast with dark clouds. "We'd better hurry..." He saids to the group. Deadin nodded. "Agreed. I don't think it's safe if Terra gets caught in this storm. It looks bad." Terra looks at Kratos then at the sky above her head. "Great. More rain..." She sighs. "I swear, ever since these things arrived, we haven't had a sunny day in--" Just as she is about to finish, drizzle starts to come down, which quickly turns into a downpour. "Dammit. This sucks!" She yells, irritated at the weather. Kratos continues his flashback.

_'And so... I Ieft the future of this world in what I believed were capable hands.'_ He looks out at the world around him. _'I had often hoped, but never dreamed I'd ever return to this place...'_ The wind whips through his hair, and he shuts his eyes; letting it flow past him... Taking this familiar sensation all in for the first time in 20 years. _'This world now, is like it was thousands of years ago. Before Mithos' secretive and cruel reign over humanity.'_ He looks around once again, then focuses his attention on Terra. _'And yet... I awaken upon so many new discoveries.' He smiles and looks at Lloyd. 'Free from my past as a member of Cruxis... all thanks to my son...' _

Kratos hesitantly extends his arm, and places it upon Lloyd's shoulder. Lloyd glances back startled a bit, but relaxes when he spots Kratos' hand. "What is it?" Lloyd asks with curiosity in his voice and a skeptic look in his eyes. Kratos quickly pulls his hand away and clears his throat. "You uhh... had a bug on your shirt..." the angelic human replied akwardly, hiding what he really wanted to say, from Lloyd. Lloyd shrugs. "Yeah...sure. Thanks." Lloyd replies back turning his attention to the front again. Kratos hangs his head and sighs silently to himself. Deadin looks at him, concerned for his friend. He tilts his head. "Are you alright my friend?" Kratos glances over at him, and nods slightly. "I am." Terra covers her head a little as the wind really starts to pick up. "We should land somewhere! We won't be near Iselia for about another hour, and the Rheairds are getting pretty banged up. I'll need some time to have a look at them." Small black blips streak through the sky, going unnoticed by Lloyd and Terra. Deadin, however, catches them in the corner of his eye... "Terra is right... we should land. And fast." Kratos places his hand upon his sheeth. "I sense something foul as well..." He turns to Lloyd and then to Terra. "Stop the Rheairds." Lloyd and Terra punch in a small combination, and the Rheairds come to a slow stop. With the colored fumes of mana spewing from the back of the Rheairds, the four hover in the air. Lloyd looks around. "I don't see anything..." Kratos, and Terra look around as well. "This fog makes seeing anything impossible..." Terra sighs. Deadin narrows his eyes, and glances around. Another black blip streaks by in the distance... "Not to my eyes it doesn't... We're being tracked." Kratos pulls the Irving from his sheath, and Lloyd turns to him. "Wow. Where did you--" Kratos silences him. "Not now." Lloyd rubs the back of his head. "Yeah... sorry." He takes his Kusangi Blades out as well. "If we get into a battle up here, we'll be sitting ducks." Terra states worridly. "We'll be okay." Kratos saids to Terra with a little smile. Terra looks at him, and smiles back. "I know..." She sighs, and looks down a bit... Kratos tilts his head. "What's wrong?" She looks back at him with sad eyes. "Nothing..." Kratos blinks a few times, unsure how to respond, and scrambling for the words. Lloyd looks over at her with a smile. "Don't worry. I won't let anything hurt you." He states with reassurance. Terra looks at her dad with watery eyes, and blushes some. "Yeah... I know." Kratos looks at the two, and sighs. Deadin looks around... "It'll be much easier for me to sniff out our persuers if I change... I won't be much good for anything else up here, but I can at least do this." Terra hangs her head, and tears roll down her cheeks. "And I'll just sit here..." The three look at her. "Terra... what is it? Come on, you can tell your dad." Lloyd states with sympathy, and another smile. Terra is silent...

"You feel like you're a burden, do you not?" Kratos speaks to the suprise of the other three. Terra startles and looks at him, then down. "No...I don't..." She saids softly. Kratos speaks again a moment later. "Lloyd and I can both fly and battle, and Deadin not only has heightened senses, but the ability to transform, and battle as well." Terra lowers her head in shame, and Lloyd glances over at him. "Hey dad, what's the deal?" Kratos glances at him a little startled, then turns his attention back to Terra. "Calm down Lloyd. I meant no ill-will in those words." Terra tilts her head. "Then..." Deadin and Kratos exchange looks, and nod to one another. He then looks back at Terra. "This can change Terra. If you wish it so..." Terra's eyes widen, then narrow again. She struggles for what to say. "Do you wish to fight with us?" Lloyd looks at him angerily. "Wait a second dad! I'm not dragging my daughter into this!" Kratos looks at him. "I knew you were my son during much of our travels together and yet, I never kept you from engaging in battle. In fact, I've always encouraged you..."

Lloyd's eye twitches a bit. "What...? You're joking, right?" Lloyd puts away his swords, and crosses his arms. "If I remember correctly, you were always making fun of me." His grits his teeth in anger. "I was nothing but second rate compared to you." Kratos chuckles. "At first... yes. You lacked the skills necessary to advance. But as I began to battle with you, and train you... I saw potential. Lots of it." Lloyd's eyes narrow, and he looks away from Kratos. "I never had doubts after our final training session outside of Hima that you would rise to become an even better warrior than I. This is why I urged you on..." Lloyd looks back completely baffled. "Better warrior...? Me? But you're..." Kratos closes his eyes. "We can get into this later." He opens them back up and turns to Deadin who's keeping watch on the sky around them. "It looks like you'll have to change after all... Even my old eyes can't see though this fog..." Deadin nods again. "Alright... but I warn you... sometimes I cannot control what lies on the other side." He hangs his head in shame. "As I explained to Kratos recently, this is a side effect of my... affliction..." Lloyd looks at him. "Deadin, you'd better switch Rheairds then... At least one of us can try to get ahold of you if you go psycho on us." Deadin nods. "Good idea. I would not want to bring harm to Lady Terra...--" Just as Deadin is about to trade places with Kratos...

Clang!

"Dammit! The Rheaird's been hit! It's those monsters again! I know it!" Terra saids as her Rheaird is hit from behind by a lone purple beam of energy. It shakes violently, nearly knocking Deadin off of it! Terra turns her head as best as possible back to Deadin. "Deadin!" Deadin grabs the seat and pulls himself back up onto it. "Phew. Close one..." He saids as they both sigh with relief.

Clang, clang!

The other Rheaird is hit twice from the right side by the same beams of energy, just as Terra's was moments ago. It shakes and tilts, leaving Lloyd and Kratos holding on tight. The vessel straightens up, and seems shakes a little more. "Those bastards! Either we sit here and get trashed, or we do something about this!" Lloyd shouts, as he scans the sky again. Three black things streak by them again, catching the eyes of Deadin. "Over there!" He shouts pointing to the left... then the right... Lloyd draws his swords once again. In moments, Kratos reveals his wings, holds the Irving out in front of him and lets go of the Rheaird. The bright light of the transformation catches Terra's attention, and she turns to him. "Awsome..." She saids with amazement, just as her Rheaird gets hit again from the left. She lowers her head and holds on as the Rheaird tilts again, then straightens up. Lloyd lets go of the handles of his Rheaird, and sighs. "I haven't had to do this in a long time... I didn't think I'd ever have to again..." He saids as he glances down at the Exsphere on his hand and smiles. "Here goes..."

Closing his eyes, Lloyd touches his exsphere. Like Kratos, a glow of light surrounds his body, and soon, large blue wings appear on the man's back. Terra is left awe struck as she looks at her father and grandfather. The transformations left her speechless, and her face glazed over with immense curiosity. Kratos stares at him with pride in his eyes, and a smile on his face. "So... you'll fight beside me again?" Lloyd turns to face him. "Yeah. I guess so..." Both smile at one another, then Lloyd takes off from the Rheaird as well. "So... should I change?" Deadin saids to Kratos, who nods. "Just get on our Rheaird first..." Lloyd saids. Deadin leaps over to it prepares to change. "Perfect Beast!" He shouts. In a matter of minutes, his body completely changes from Elven to Were-wolf. He lowers his head and squinches his eyes. Clinching his fists tightly beside him, his body shakes in a spasmic rhythm. Grabbing the Rheaird, he holds onto it with all his might, grits his teeth, and shakes his head, fighting back the beast inside... "G-gg-give... me a... m-mo-moment..."

Meanwhile...

As the citizens of New Mizuho continue to come back into the ravaged village, some look around at the devasation. ...There isn't much to come back to now...

Yuan and Ellriya take a moment to gaze at the destroyed village, then part ways with Zelos after he allows them to borrow his Rheaird. Before they left, Yuan told the former chosen of the explosion earlier and who the destroyed Rheaird belonged to. Zelos startled, and gasped. Narrowing his eyes, he became both worried and concerned for his old friend, and former president of Altamira, Regal Bryant. Zelos nodded to them, promising that he'd personally pay a visit to Altamira to check on his former travel companion, and for them to go on and catch up to Lloyd and the others. Walking around New Mizuho moments later a bit distraut, Zelos eventually runs into his wife Sheena, who seemed equally as distraut as he was. ...Maybe even moreso. He looks at her with sympathy, scratches his head and walks over to her.

The fair skinned woman stood looking at the crumbling village of New Mizuho, which just a little while ago, was a thriving, lively place... for a hidden ninja village anyway. It was the biggest of it's kind... Tears begin to well up in Sheena's eyes, as she continued to look around, oblivious to Zelos behind her. All she had worked for as the new chief... her struggles and sacrifices... were all for naught. She falls to her knees amidst cinder covered ground, and bends down, reaching out her hand to scoop some dirt. Clutching it tightly, it falls like sand from her palm. She looks at her hand, which is now covered in soot and soil, and hangs her head. She fights crying, as closes her eyes, grits her teeth, and lets loose a few streams of tears from her face, which run down her cheek and land in the dirt. Zelos approaches her cautiously, and kneels down beside her. He places his arm around her shoulders and draws her close to him. "We'll rebuild honey... I promise." More tears flow from her eyes, and Zelos wipes them away with his thumb. He touches her chin and brings her face to his. They lock eyes. "I promised when we married that I wouldn't let anything else hurt you." He pushes aside her bangs, tucking them behind her ear. "So don't let this get to you either, okay? Trust me." Sheena tries her best to smile at her normally care-free, flirtatious, and goofy husband--finally managing a minute or so later. "I know I shouldn't... but I can't help it..." She saids as that smile slowly dissipates. Zelos raises his head, and looks around for a brief moment, taking in just how hard his home for nearly eight years, was hit. "I know this place is in bad shape--" He looks down at her and smiles. "But at least you're still here--" He pauses for a moment. "...With me." He takes her hands in his, and they stand up. "I don't know what I would've done if you were killed..." He wipes away more tears on her face, then a few on his, and Sheena just stares at him. They were both showing sides of themselves out in public that they never showed before... Zelos sighs, and shuts his eyes. We... can get into this later--" He opens them back up and looks at her with a mischivious smile. "if you want to, that is..." Sheena laughs a little and playfully smacks his cheek lightly. "You are such a dog..." She sighs and smiles at him again. "But I can't ever seem to stay mad at you." They hug, and share a small kiss. "Things will be okay Sheena..." He whispers to her, and kisses her neck a few times. "I love you." She leans her head on his shoulder. "I love you too..."

They let up a few minutes later and Zelos sighs, hanging his head some. Sheena tilts hers some, wondering what's wrong. "It's Regal..." Sheena's eyes immediately widen, and she gasps. "What about Regal? Zelos, what's wrong!" He shakes his head. "I don't know... Yuan just told me what him and Ellryia heard. Some kind of explosion over in the distance." He looks back at her. "The Rheaird belonged to him..." Sheena's heart sank in her chest, and she gasped again. "No...no... it can't be..." She said as she started welling up with tears again. "We should go search Zelos! Come on!" She pulls at his hand, trying to lead him out of the village. He doesn't move. "I'll go." He saids with a sigh. "You need to stay here with everyone. At least, help pick up some of the pieces for now." He looks out of the village. "I'll have to go by my own flight anyway, since I let the others take off on our Rheaird... Sheena smacks him on the chest. "What! Why'd you do that!" She saids with some anger. "Yuan wanted to find his old friend, and Ellryia needed something to ride on..." He looks at her. "I just didn't have the heart to deny a pretty face, or the ancient hero." Sheena sighs, and rolls her eyes. She smiles at him again. "I swear... you're just TOO nice sometimes." He laughs. "It's a curse." They hug again, and share a longer kiss. "I'm gonna stop by Meltokio for a little while afterwards, and see if I can get help from the King. I think I'll pick up some weapons from my place too. Just in case, you know?" Sheena runs her fingers in his hair, then down his cheek. "Just don't be forever about it, okay?" They let go, and he winks at her. "I won't. Promise." And with that, Zelos waves, reveals his wings, and flies off into the sky. Sheena watching as he disappears from view...

Meanwhile...

The black shadows whiz by in the sky again, seemingly intrigued with what's taking place... or plotting their next move. Suddenly, another purple beam whizzes right by Terra's head! She screams, then ducks, and looks behind her as the beams dissappear. Another, and another come, and she ducks those at the last second... Kratos flies in front of her, and puts up his shield, deflecting more beams, and protecting her from harm. Lloyd looks them, then at Deadin again. "Come on... hurry up..." He whispers. He scans the sky once again, but sees nothing. "Man... I hate these things! They're too fast! It's like they're toying with us..." Terra glances back at her dad. "No kidding!" She states both with fear and sarcasm in her voice. Lloyd looks at Deadin once more as Kratos continues to shield Terra from harm. A beam deflects off of one of Lloyd's swords, and soars into the sky, dissappearing moments later. "Come on Deadin! Snap out of this!" Deadin shakes his head, and seems to calm down. He sighs, opens his eyes, and looks at Lloyd. "I'm alright now." He saids as he starts to sniff the air. His nose instantaniously locks in on a fast moving Tarivian moving towards them from the right. He turns again to left, locking onto another scent. And again, he turns behind him, zoning in on yet another scent. "There are three of them. All are darting towards us to fire, then darting back into the thicker cover of the clouds." Kratos' eyes narrow. "Cowards." He laughs a bit. "This shouldn't pose a problem." Kratos immediately gets into a spell cast, and awaits the Tarivians. He flies above the two Rheairds, and looks down at Terra. "Don't worry. This won't hurt anyone but our enemies." He looks back out and shuts his eyes... The three Tarivians approach in a triangular formation from the left, right, and behind... Lloyd readies his swords, crossing them in front of him. Terra looks around, while keeping her head low. And Deadin keeps a vigil watch as well...

The Tarivians approach with such blazing fast speed, they look like comets streaking though the sky! Deadin shouts to Kratos, and Kratos opens his eyes, right as the monsters are within reach of the two small vessels...

"Eruption!" The mighty warrior shouts. A dome of flame immediately and harmlessly encases the group, and the Tarivians run right into the intense wall of heat! Bouncing off of it like ping-pong balls, the aliens are burnt and torched over and over again as their skinny, disgusting bodies are engulfed in flames. Screeching with pain as they continue their restless pursuit to try to get though the mighty spell, the three Tarivians finally give up and back away. They turn their backs, and shake their heads--obviously stunned by the ordeal. As the spell comes to an end, the Tarivians seize the opportunity, and reveal their sharp claws... All 36 of the sharp sword like appendages... Looking at Kratos, all three suddenly fly up towards the ancient warrior! "Grandpa!" Terra shouts, concerned for him. Kratos eyes all three, and readies the Irving. "Three on one eh? Heh..." Lloyd flies up to his side. "Make that two."

**RP #16 - Tizar Huine. Posted 4-24-06**

The next several days were uneventful as Purrti trained Anna how to use the weapons and armour that she now wore, graceful but clumsy at times with the weapon, the older female took Anna to open field for training. As Anna learned to coordinate her movements with her weapon. Purrti and Anna's ears twitched as they heard a faint sound coming from the forest, like someone praying and they sounded like they had lost their way. Stopping what they were were doing, they crouched down on all fours and sprinted to the area were they thought they could hear a man's voice. Ducking behind several bushes, they peeked out, their eyes glowing in the darkness, they saw a human male mumbling some words, Anna looked at Purrti, who only shruged many humans get lost the in these forest... including the ninja who live in the village nearby. They merely watched as he sung a song, looking around they noticed small animal curiously approuching him... a good sign to those of the forest, Purrti nodded but did not say as word as she silently moved from the hidden enclave.

**RP #17 - Fated Destiny. Posted 4-25-06**

Merrick examined the curious litle animal and held out his hand. The animal sniffed his hand and immediately ran off. "I guess I should have taken a bath back at that last settlement I spent the night at." he mumbled. He then saw bigger feet, and looking up, he jumped, somewhat startled. "I didn't see you there." Merrick quickly stated in an attempt to explain his fright. "In song, I become so detached sometimes..."

Before Purrti could reply, there came another rustling. Merrick immediately spun around and placed a single hand on his sword. Purrti's ears perked as the sounds of armor could be heard from between the trees. Merrick grimaced.

"Whoever it is, they seem to be armed." He turned to Purrti. "It may have been a posse sent out for me by my traiterous sister, I'd best handle this myself." He tore off towards the sound, always keeping his right hand on the blade he kept slung over hs back. He dove into some bushes to examine the figure. Little did he realize he was being followed.

The man was dressed in loose, flowing clothing, much like Merrick. The only difference was that he wore metal gauntlets, shoulder plates, basically anything short of being described as a suit of armor. Dressed in black, the man turned his head, and all Merrick saw of his face was a mask. The figure suddenly stopped. Merrick tensed, ready for action. How could he possibly have been detected? He didn't have time to think avout that, he sprung from the bushes as the figure suddenly threw some sort of projectile at him. "Can't take risks." Merrick said to no one in particular, and rushed him. After clashing their blades for a few seconds, Merrick kicked him and knocked him off his feet. "Who sent you?" he demanded, "And why are you attacking me, I'm just a bard!"

"I sent myself, and I'm attacking you for that sword." was all he replied.

"My sword? Why?" Merrick asked, "I've been using it for four years now, the value can't remain very high on it from all the damage it's taken."

"That sword has never taken a nick and you know it."

Merrick's eyes narrowed. There were only 2 possible explanations. His foes knew more than he gave them credit for or he was related to the cultists he had slaughtered in defence. "Maybe not, but if you don't want me to deliver a piercing blow to your skull, give me some answers!" Laughter was all that met his ears. "What's so funny?"

"Sing me something, O bard."

"Why should I sing anything short of your requiem?"

"Really witty." his attacker said, irritated, "But do you really think you can match the power of an exsphere?" Merrick's eyes narrowed again. He had never heard of an exsphere before, yet he had a feeling it had to do with the stone and gold-colored chip he had pulled out of his pocket. What was it? It was obviously dangerous. Should he rish and disarm, or would that be falling into a trap, allowing himself to get hit with whatever magical projectile the sphere may be?

"Enlighten me." he said at last, "What is this exsphere, you speak of?" Again, laughter was all that reached his ears. "You know, you're really becoming quite a nuisance, so allow me to end your laughter if you have nothing better to say." Again, laughter.

"Fine, you fool, do you really want to know? THIS is an exsphere!" he told him, holding up the stone. Merrick groaned.

"No kidding, somehow, I had figured that much. What does it DO, what IS it, how does it WORK? If this stone is so powerful I've got nothing to fear if you can't tell me at least that!" Merrick was pleased to not hear laughter this time. Perhaps his threat was taken seriously after all.

"That's why I need THIS!" he answered, holding up the golden chip. "This is a key crest, it allows me to control the power with no negative side effects! I stole this this morning, and it seems you're the lucky person I'll be testing it on!"

"Um, whatever, bring it on, you little pain in the neck!" Upon attaching the exsphere, the man rushed immediately. Merrick had little time to react, so he blocked by holding his seord with his left hand and by bracing the blade with his right arm so that way he wouldn't hurt himself from the power of his opponent's blow. Regardless, he still fell backwards, off his feet.

"It seems the upper hand is mine, now!"

_"One minute you're on top..."_ Merrick began, holding his sword in his right hand, with his left hand near the tip of the blade. _"Making your onslaught..."_ he continued, swiftly hoisting up his blade with his left hand and then unleashing one quick sweep as a warning. _"Just before you hit the floor..."_ He spun around, turning his back on the man in black. He held his blade behind his back with both hands, angled just perfectly. Not only did he parry the stab, he also sliced his attacker across the chest. _"... and then it's all gone..."_ Merrick finished his song with a snap of his fingers as he kicked the man to the floor once more. "Guess that exsphere didn't increase your pain tolerance, did it? One grazing cut was all it took to make you drop your weapon."

The man didn't answer.

"Let me try again." Merrick said, actually asking this for the first time. "Don't move." He crept closer and snatched the exsphere off his arm. "Who can tell me more about these?"

"I heard that there's an exsphere expert near Iselia, but I haven't been there in forever, myself. I wonder if that cute little..."

_'That's all I needed to know.'_ Merrick thought to himself. "I won't kill you, I'll give you a chance against all these monsters, first." Merrick told him, as he saw many undead approaching, lured by his song of anger and the scent of blood. The man attacked Merrick again, by trying to throw a dart at him, so Merrick saw no choice but to kill him. As he turned to face all the undead, still looking ever closer, he heard a noise overhead. Looking up, he saw a flying machine he would later learn to call a rheiard, and all he could say was "I want one of those..." He looked again at the undead as they were nearly in striking range. "Um, maybe I should run..." Attaching the exsphere, he tore off through the woods faster than ever before.

_'Iselia, huh? I guess I should swing by and see what's up.'_ Merrick has obtained the title of "Angry Bard!" (He sings requiems for any foes who give him woes)

**RP #18 - Tizar Huine. Posted 4-26-06**

Anna burst from the brush barely escaping the creatures that rose from the ground leaping up into the branches as Purrti blinked for a moment watching the human take off

Purrti: I must protect my home. the large panther like creature vanished into the darkness of the forest heading back to her village. Anna sighed wondering if she should follow the man or her teacher. She choice her teacher and followed in pursuit of the female Purrdi.

Meanwhile just outside Iselia, as the high priestess prayed to her goddess while facing the ocean, she was seeking guidance as what to do next as Vanim longed just to leap into the ocean and forget that she even met this violent beings but she promised her aid and that of her people. The humans were being attacked by alien creatures even to this world and they would need the help of the merfolk, a the greenish hued mermaid turning back to the village, she shook her head and walked slowly back to the village.

**RP #19 - Tizar Huine. Posted 4-29-06**

As Purrti moved quickly thought the trees, she pondered on the fact that she left her student to decide who she would follow, looking back she noticed that Anna was following. Purrti slowed down to allow Anna to keep up with her. Looking down she saw the undead moving slowly though the undergrowth, toward the the ninja town. It wasn't her village that needed the protection but the human village and Collette was there. Stopping, she turned to Anna

Purrti: It would be the human village that would need protection. Anna looked down tracking the the movement of the creatures, then nodded.

Anna: You don't care for the humans but they are friends.

Purrti: If we can contact the magician then maybe they would have a chance.

Anna: You mean Merlin?

Purrti looks about trying to decide the best way to get to either village. Anna thinks of the spell that transport them directly to the person they desire to speak with!

**RP #20 – Sekhmet. Posted 5-6-06**

As Purrti and Anna moved through the forest, Anna noticed the creatures began to desolve, evaporate as they melted into the ground. They stared at each other then watched as the creatures turned back toward where they had came from. Purrti thought for a moment that the creatures were after the human, who seem slightly distracted that took off toward the other end of the forest.

Anna: So what are we doing?

Purrti: Going to Iselia... I don't think they need us in the ninja village anymore.

Anna rises an eyebrow and shrugs, didn't matter to her where she went, bothe Purrti and herself were almost as alien to the humans as the aliens. Though she wondered about the mermaid that was at the ninja village long time back


	12. Archangels

**RP #1 - Sekhmet. Posted on 5-10-06**

As Anna and Purrti continued toward Iselia, they spoke in the Purrdu language of the feline and bounded through the trees and brush like it was nothing. Anna was noticing that her armour didn't even slow her down as she wound through the forest, stopping at a small creek to drink some water as they travelled together. Purrti stopping Anna off and on to teach her small bits of everyday magic and how to use her weapons as they continued their way to Iselia.

**RP #2 - Newtype06. Posted on 5-10-06**

With a mighty clash, two of the dark Tarivians struck at the angelic swordsmen. Approached from his left, Kratos bats away the thin Tarivian blades with his shield. Lloyd is struck at from above, but catches the fine blades between his. Deadin looked on from afar, taking in the spectacle. _Wings._ Deadin, in all his years of experience, had never seen such things. Vaguely aware that there was another Tarivian lurking in the clouds, Deadin still could not tear himself away from the shimmering wings that sprung from Lloyd's shoulders. Kratos had mystified him earlier, during the Battle for Mizuho, but Deadin had dismissed it as one of Kratos' many tricks, or perhaps as a hallucination brought on by combat fatigue. However, having witnessed Lloyd's transformation, there was no doubt in Deadin's mind that the wings were true. Kratos swung his sword, battering the dark Tarivian's defenses. Lloyd feinted with a thrust, and then executed a quick upward slash. "Demon Fang!" He shouted. The Tarivian floated backwards a bit, a thin line of purple across its chest. Kratos risks a small glance in Lloyd's direction and smirks. The seasoned veteran then presses on the offensive, eager to level the score.

Deadin was interrupted by the third Tarivian firing on the Rheiard yet again. Dark scorch marks began to riddle the front of the hull. "Dammit!" Deadin shouted, tying his rucksack to his back and drawing his broadsword. The Hybrid did his best to balance himself behind Terra on the Rheiard. Sitting behind her, he could not effectively protect her from frontal attacks. "Turn us around!" he shouted to Terra, who immediately did so. Deadin turned around, now effectively shielding Terra from any harm. Deadin took the Tarivian's purple shots in stride, blocking or dodging any that would pose a threat to himself or Terra. Deadin measured his options. He could have Terra go muzzle to muzzle with the Tarivian, but that would put her in too much danger. She was not ready…yet. The only way to safely eliminate the target was to remove Terra. Or…himself. Deadin began computing the risk of his deadly plan, and was not enthusiastic about the results.

Sparks flew as Lloyd clashed with his Tarivian. He had fought the deadly beasts before, and knew their style, but these dark stalkers fought differently. Unlike the Tarivian foot soldiers and Elites that raided Mizuho, these black Tarivians were streamlined in every way. Their faces were aerodynamic, their skin smooth and glossy. Veined wings cut a thin profile through the air. Their movements were fluid, but not generally powerful. Lloyd noticed that he overpowered the Tarivian easily. It was only the creature's incredible speed that protected it from Lloyd's furious strikes. The alien seemed to rely on surprise. Lloyd realized then that they were extremely lucky to survive the first assault. The alien seemed to have put all its energy into that attack. They were backstabbers, _Assassins…._

Deadin parried one last energy blast, and then instructed Terra to go evasive. Terra pulled the Rheiard into a tight dive, barely skimming the surface of the forest below. _Perfect_, Deadin thought. The Hybrid reached into the sack that he had brought with him. It was strange how circumstances worked out. He had brought the length of rope to teach terra about balance and footwork. However, now he would use it to teach precision. Deadin slowly and carefully began tying the rope around his clawed left foot. _Just in case…_

Satisfied that the knot was tight enough, Deadin turned to Terra. "I had hoped our training would begin under easier circumstances. The Assassins have forced me to accelerate my timetable. I did not intend to teach you this first. However, it suits the occasion. The first I will tech you is precision. A swordsman must be precise. Once you are able to reach out and touch your opponent at will, you can then concentrate on speed and power. A precise defender can place his or her blade in preparation for any strike. Precision is utterly necessary to master the Par—"

A powerful gust of wind blocked out the rest of the word.

"—ust. Now, if you would slow down, please. I want to meet our assailant."

Terra was a bit confused, but saw the confidence in Deadin's feral eyes. She quickly slowed the Rheiard, and the Tarivian Assassin readied its claws. Deadin held his sword laterally, pointing the tip at the oncoming foe. Deadin set his stance, and looked back at Terra. "By the way, you may want to hang onto something." Terra wheeled about, and grabbed onto the two control bars that steered the Rheiard. Deadin looked back into the Assassin's eyes, and waited.

The attack was very swift, Deadin remarked, as the assassin finally struck at them. However, the Hybrid was far faster. And more precise. The Tarivian made a quick lunging strike from below, but Deadin managed to pin its hand to the Rheiard with his blade. Gambling that the Tarivian would not react in time, Deadin released his hold on the Tarivian's hand and deftly swung his sword back up at its face. The Tarivian immediately grabbed for its eyes, purple blood seeping between its fingers. Deadin turned away just as he heard the satisfying "thwack!" of the Tarivian hitting the trees below.

Kratos was done playing with the weak Tarivian Assassins. After parrying a particularly badly placed thrust, Kratos yelled "Fireball!" Three fiery red spheres emerged from his hands, baking the hapless Tarivian. The smoldering husk plummeted to the ground. Turning around, Kratos noticed Lloyd back away from his Tarivian. The creature seemed puzzled. Suddenly Lloyd flew up, and dive-bombed the black Tarivian, blades first. Flames erupted from his sword tips as he blasted past the Tarivian, crying "Rising Falcon!" Kratos noticed that a massive hole had replaced the Tarivian's head and most of its shoulders. Kratos slid the Irving into his scabbard, and Lloyd did the same.

Hours later, the four were back on track and nearing Iselia. As they neared the town, Lloyd and Terra noticed how severe the damage really was. The iron fist of Palmacosta had truly hit the town hard. However, the stalwart people of Iselia had held out, and it stirred Lloyd's heart to see the difference that twenty years can make. The same Iselians who keeled over to the Desians years ago had grabbed their swords and pitchforks and stood their ground. Already he saw them rebuilding their homes and replanting their fields. Deadin hastily reverted to his elven form, not wanting to scare the villagers. The Beast, so silent over the past day, now stalked Deadin's mind again. Elven again, Deadin had some protection from the Beast's more sublte attacks. However, a serious exertion from the Beast could be disastrous…

The Irvings, Kratos, and Deadin landed in the town square, much to everyone's excitement. As the three disembarked, a strangely familiar face greeted them from the crowd. "Well, well, well. It's about time you guys showed up. I've been waiting for like…ever!" he said. Much to everyone's surprise, Zelos Wilder stepped out of the crowd. "I had things to take care of, and I thought I'd drop by! I expected you here earlier, though…" Deadin, Kratos and Lloyd exchanged glances. "We were…delayed." Kratos said, folding his arms in front of his chest. Zelos stepped forward as the crowd began to disperse.

"So I've noticed." Zelos said. "We've started our work in Triet. It was off to a fairly good start, and I decided to check up on you guys. Oh, and by the way, Deadin…" Zelos stepped forward to the Elf. "Stories are circulating of a wolf demon that killed many, many Tarivians at the Battle of Mizuho. Sound familiar?" Deadin bowed his head. "Yes. There was a demon in Mizuho." Taken aback, Zelos took a step back. "Well, anyways…I wanted to thank you. That place means a lot to me." With that, Zelos brandished a magnificent sword. The scabbard glinted in the sunlight, casting a blue sparkle on everything. The pommel was made of gold, as was the hand guard and the rest of the hilt, which was about a foot long. The scabbard itself looked like it was made of a magnificent sapphire, carved and hollowed out for a blade to reside in. A diamond, pear-shaped langet extended from the center of the hand guard, securing it in the scabbard. Zelos handed the weapon to Deadin. "This is Excalibur. We picked it up during our last adventure. I don't need it now, since I got my Fencer. I heard you fought bravely, defending friends and allies, all the while waging a battle within yourself. Let this sword determine that battle." Zelos stepped back, face beaming.

Deadin's hand clasped the sword-hilt, preparing to draw it for the first time. But he couldn't. His hand shook from the exertion, but still the blade would not spring forth. The Beast, hungry for power, pushed Deadin away and pulled on its own. Still, the blade remained steadfast. Slowly the Elf overcame the Beast, denying it further dominion. Finished, Deadin buckled the sword to his right side, so much more dead weight for him to carry around. Zelos frowned, "Well, it's never done that before." Deadin shrugged. "Oh well. It's a beautiful sword nonetheless. Thank you very much for this gift, Zelos." Zelos stepped back, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, don't worry about it. You earned it." And with that, Zelos pulled Lloyd aside to speak privately. Kratos, Terra, and a bewildered Deadin waited patiently.

Lloyd returned from his little discussion with Zelos, informing the group that the Chosen was returning to Triet to meet the rest of the restoration committee. Lloyd's mind was reeling. Zelos had more news than just restoration. _Regal…_ Lloyd thought. _Could he really be dead?_ Zelos brought news of a downed Rheiard, identified as Regal Bryant's. Though he found no body, Zelos still was unsure of Regal's location. Once things were squared away, Zelos was really heading to Altamira, hoping to confirm Regal's condition. Lloyd tried to mask his fear, but always found himself under the watchful, discerning eye of Kratos.

The troupe made their way out of the village, back to their Rheiards. On his way out, Deadin bumped into a certain young man carrying a heavy broadsword. "Pardon me, fellow swordsman." Deadin said, bowing curtly. The brown haired man turned, flinging a ponytail over his shoulder. Deadin knew immediately, from the way the man carried himself to the scar on his eye, that he was an expert with a blade, having felled his number of foes and taken his fair share of blows. Deadin filed his face away in his memory, and moved on.

Merrick had finally arrived in Iselia. Now he just had to find that exsphere expert. He walked up to a nearby vendor, and pulled out the small orb. "Do you know what this is?" he asked, wary of the possibility that the vendor might lie. Either that, or he might already be an informant for those cultists. They had sent one assassin, why not send two? However, the vendor proved unknowledgeable about the exsphere, and suggested that Merrick visit the blacksmith in the woods. Humming to himself, Merrick got his bearings, and proceeded back through the city gates, back to the two purrdu that stalked the shadows. A few whispers, several quick glances, and a few minutes later, the three travelers delved into the Iselian forest.

_Meanwhile…._

The two Rheiards touched down outside Iselia. Yuan dismounted first, striding calmly up to the town. Ellyria walked tentatively behind him. "Uh… where are we going, exactly?" she inquired of the hero, tapping him carefully on the shoulder. "We're going to see if Lloyd arrived, Miss... Ellyria." "Oh yeah, I knew that." Ellyria stammered, blushing a bit. However, the duo managed to land on the far side of town, and failed to notice the other adventurers, who landed clear on the other side of town. After a few minutes of inquiry, the duo knew they were too late, and returned to their Rheiards to give chase yet again.

**RP #3 - Genis Sage. Posted on 5-10-06**

Humming a merry tune as he marched through the forest, Merrick heard motion. Tensing, he pulled the exsphere out of his pocket and slapped it on his hand yet again. From the bushed jumped a single giant hare. Merrick almost laughed as he released his blade.

The hare, however, narrowed it's little eyes and bared it's teeth. Its red eyes and red teeth. _'Red teeth?'_ he tought to himself, before coming to the conclusion that this rabid hare fed off the flesh of others.

He drew his blade as the little creature made its move. First, Merrick swing too high, then too low (as it jumped), and then the hare hopped sideways as he did a vertical slash. "Darn it! Why are the little guys always so hard to kill?" he cursed, as it did a quadruple jump kick that he blocked with ease. "At least it's weak..."

Suddenly, a power surged trhough him that he never knew, spreading to his limbs. A warm power came from the exsphere, and a familiar voice in his head said "Swing now, and cry 'Demon Fang!'" Not sure what to make of this, Merrick attempted it. He was flabbergasted that a shockwave was sent forth from his blade, and even more so that the creature jumped clean over it!

New phrases appearing hin his head left, right, and centre, he decided to try them all out. "Tiger Blade!" came his first attempt, as he knocked the hare into the air and then back down. "Lightning Blade!" he said as he lunged, and lightining fell to strike his foe. Finally, he let loose with "Light Spear Cannon!" and the hare was impaled upon his blade.

Merrick was confused. _"Is this the power that will see me through my darkest hour? This might that will win me my fight, for justice to prevail over chaos? Or will it corrupt my very soul, from which darkness there is no parole?"_ He had no idea what he just experienced, but he knew he was now stronger than any living human that didn't have an exsphere.

"I should get going before its friends turn up, like they always do It's not fair, I never get to do my victory song anymore!" Merrick sightd. "On second thought, I want to sing, I can handle more of these guys and..." he said, looking at the scrumptious game on his blade, "I'm hungry."

After fighting off a few wolves, he began hearing voices. "So you're back?" he asked, as the felines emerged from the trees. Before they could speak, he continued, "Want some lunch? I've got plenty here, these beasts just keep coming... yeah, I'll pitch another fire. You know, it's been such a long time since I had company, thanks for tagging along. I haven't had many spectators for my songs lately, would you like to hear a few of my compositions?"

Purrti turned to Anna, and whispered. Merrick frowned. "I never shut up? Well yeah, I coulda told you that, I'm a bard. I inspire friends into landing epic blows and annoy my enemies into a blind rage where they can't hit the broad side of a cockatrice." The two looked at him, amazed that he heard them. "What's with the looks? I just assumed you were talking about my obnoxious nature..."

Before long, the three had spotted a house in the distance...

"That must be the blacksmith's house!" Merrick exclaimed, and sprinted off without another word. Anna turned to Purrti to ask whether or not they should follow, and all the answer recieved was a shrug.

"Almost... there!" as he neared the house, he saw a girl outside. He didn't stop to say hi, he just tripped about 2 steps after running by her. The exsphere glimmered in the sun, catching her eye.

"Why are you in such a rush?" she asked him, "And are you always that clumsy?"

Merrick's better nature kicking in, he decided to crack a joke. "I think I'm falling for you." he told her with a laugh as he got back up. As she was about to speak, he cut in "So, before I make another fool of myself, is this where the blacksmith lives?"

"Yeah, that's my dad." she replied, "Do you want to place an order or something?"

"Nah, an appraisal, more like. I heard that this thing was called an exsphere, and that the blacksmith here knew about them. I was attacked by an assasin who used this, and I wanted to know more about it. Is he inside?"

"Yeah, though he's probably busy right now."

Merrick took a few more steps near the house and saw an elf fighting to pull a blade out of its scabbard. "This keeps getting weirder! First, a girl who doesn't laugh at my falling joke, and a sword that can't be drawn..."

He opened the door, with one thought. "What kind of freak IS this blacksmith?"

**RP #4 - Sekhmet. Posted on 5-17-06**

Before even entering the town the two Pardu stopped in the field outside of the town, Purrti felt that Anna needed to learn heavier magic. This practice drew attention of the merfolk who had grown bored while protecting the border of the ocean. They watched as Anna was blasted halfway across the field as she attempted to defend herself again Purrti, shake her head and rise to attack only to be tossed about 30 feet. Purrti shook her head and attacked putting Anna on the defencive as she continued to learn the use of her weapon. Gracefully the older Pardu swung herself and her sword around as Anna attempted to block and parry with her new weapon only to be heavily spun and hit the ground with an ungraceful resounding thud. The merfolk grimsed as Anna rose, with blood coming from her nose as she attacked Purrti to be thrown to the ground one more a little harder then her teacher intended, she stayed there, stunned and bleeding. Anna slowly rose and cast a spell only to be hit with a larger spell that threw her into the rocks near the ocean, only when the merfolk interferred did Purrti stop to see her student was badly injured.

**RP #5 - Sekhmet. Posted on 5-19-06**

As the merfolk spearmen checked out Anna, to ensure that she was still living, one of the top warriors discussed the aspects of the training with Purrti as what could be done better as a exasperated spearman ran to get Vanim who was in the village. The spearmen slowly moved Anna to her side, to help her to breath just up just in time to see see Purtti go flying as Anna who in pain muddered something in elven, as her eyes opened her eyes mear slits as she hissed out the words and then closed her eyes as she passed out once more.

Merman: as he helped up Purrti Ok, she is half elf...

Purrti: Ow... Had she ... shakes head been using... twists to pop something elven magic...

**RP #6 - Sekhmet. Posted on 5-20-06**

As Vanim stood listening to the other chat, she noticed a merman trying to get her attention. Moving away from Deadin and the others, she walked over to the merman, in hushed tones the merman explained the situation. Nodding, she hurriedly excused herself, touched Deadin's arm, then hastly left without a sound vanishing quickly as the merman had come. In the field Purrti rose to her feet, quickly as possible made her way back over to Anna, to notice that she took the training, basically a brutal beating with as much grace as she could and gave back what she knew. Purrti stood covered with grime and blood as Anna laid in a pool of her own blood just barely breathing.

**RP #7 - Sekhmet. Posted on 5-21-06**

After several minutes, Vanim came to the area where Purrti and Anna were practicing. As she came on the scene, she sighed with disgust at the actions of the Purrdian teacher, however, she kept her thoughts to herself as she knelt beside both the injuried felines.

Purrti: So you're the mermaid that she was speaking about.

Vanim: nods as she continues to work on Anna What where you thinking?

Purrti: I was trying to train her.

Vanim: More like kill her, feline, I will do what I can... turns her back on Purrti as she cast a healing spell, then instructed the spearmen to take Anna to the infermary, then treated Purrti who was badly wounded as well.

**RP #8 - Sekhmet. Posted on 5-25-06**

As the merwarriors took Purrti and Anna to the Infermary Vanim walked beside Anna, she could feel the elven half of her and was puzzled by her appearance of being feline. Being a full elf was hard enough amoung the mortals that were around her... though the forbidden one walked amoung them, he was welcome amoung these mortal beings... She had tried to get his attention but his other half had blocked that attempt. As she walked through the town with these feline, Purrdi as they were called, the humans gathered as if marvelling not just at her but at them. The older feline seemed uncomfortable amoung them but stayed with her battered student. Vanim wondered if elven magic should be taught not the mortal magic. Vanim continued to ponder this as Purrti belated collapsed from exhaustion and was caught by one of guards as they approuched the infermary.

Vanim: Well... shakes her head with a chuckle it was her fault...

**RP #9 - AngelicAura. Posted on 5-29-06**

_Aaron breathed heavily, hoisting a wooden beam up to his shoulder, and carrying it to the reconstruction site. Iselia was going up, little by little. Everyday, the place was looking better. It would only be a matter of weeks before the charred memories were replaced with brand new ones. Every house was being updated, allowing each family a safer surrounding in case of another attack like previously. _

_Aaron stared at the frame of a house in front of him. It would soon be the home of a family of four. In the meantime, they were in the care of the Iselian government. Aaron sighed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. It fell to the ground, in the shadow of a man. Aaron followed the shadow to the body of the substance of the shadow, a man who was clearly a soldier, dressed in the green and brown colors of the Iselian military. Also, he had scars from the previous battle on his arms, legs, and one large scratch mark across his cheek._

"Yes, soldier?" _Aaron questioned, looking for any sign of trouble in the soldier's voice._

"The General wishes to see you. It's of utmost importance. He refused to tell me any specifics, but I heard something about a specimen." _the soldier replied._

"Thank you. I'll depart immediatly. I'm assuming he's in the Research Lab?"

_The soldier nodded. Aaron walked off quickly to the HQ. _

_Utmost importance, 'eh? I wonder what it is. _

_Aaron entered through the many security-enforced doors of the Iselia Military Headquarters. Since the attack, security has been extremely tight. Retina scan, fingerprint matching, and even a voice scan. It now took about three minutes just to get into the building. Security guards were everywhere inside the building. It was almost impossible to do anything. _

_Why have all these guards? Can't we use them as soldiers? It would be better. Sometimes I wonder what in the world the general is thinking... _

_Aaron rushed past a group of guards in front of the Research Lab door, sliding out his ID card from his pocket and flashing it at them. They gave him an uneasy look, and watched him enter. _

_The air-lock room was sealed tight, and Aaron entered the clean room environment of the Iselia Military Reserch Lab. Geniuses from all over the continent were here to help the Iselians with new weapons and magi-technology. Only, something was different. The last time he was in the Research Lab, which wasn't long ago, the scientists were all busy running around from one compartment to another. This time, they were all gathered around one large table supported by four black, metal legs._

"What in the world?" _Aaron spoke loudly. _

_The large ring around the table parted to make room for Aaron. Aaron glanced down at the object on the table and gasped. It was a bloody massacre. The body was almost dyed red from all of the blood. One difference between a normal human specimen and this specimen was one large factor. The body had large, red wings. But, they weren't stained from the blood. They were naturally red._

"What is this?" _Aaron finally said after staring at the specimen. _

_A scientist of half-elven descent looked up. Genis had recruited her from the Meltokio region. She had previously worked in Sybak. He once told how she was the one saved Raine, Presea, and his lives. He couldn't remember her name, though._

"It's obvious that it's an angel. The only thing different between this angel and an angel from say, for example, Cruxis, is that this angel is missing a heart. Also, it is impossible to touch with bare skin. It severely burns you if you attempt to." _she explained._

"How do you know it doesn't have a heart?" _Aaron said, grabbing some rubber gloves from a sterile container and putting them on._

"We were able to do some dissection on it. Unfortunately, one of our scientists lost his hand while trying to investigate the chest. He touched the skin of his wrist to the skin of the angel, and jerked up, causing the scapel to cut straight through his wrist. There was a severe blood loss, and it contaminated our subject." _the same scientist told._

"You mean that's not the angel's blood?" _Aaron quizzically asked._

"That puzzled us earlier. We found no veins, arteries, or capillaries in the body at all. It seemed that whatever kept it running flowed through the nervous system. It appeared to be tiny amounts of solidified mana. It looked like it was colored red. And this was before the scientist's hand was cut off."

"Do we have any idea what that means?" _Aaron questioned._

"No proof of anything yet, but our hypothesis is that this angel could control fire without casting spells. The red mana might be the source of the intense heat on the skin surface."

_Aaron's jaw fell open. It was rather logical. It might make sense._

"Let me guess. This specimen was found in the Triet desert?" _Aaron asked._

"Affirmative," _replied a different voice. This time the General spoke,_ "One of the people of the Mizuho army told us about seeing this creature when it was alive. It was flying, and causing massive destruction to forests and some of the oases between Iselia and Triet."

"What could've created this creature, though?" _Aaron asked._

"It's not a what. It's a who." _the General said, not looking at Aaron at all._

"Cruxis is gone. All the angels are gone, right? Except for Colette and Lloyd, right?"

_The General still didn't look at Aaron. He just looked at the floor and shook his head. Aaron was shocked._

"We've received word from a secret scout that there are more angels still here. It troubles us. We've decided to name these creatures 'Archangels'. Normal angels didn't have powers like this. We believe there are only six, one of each element. We could be wrong, though. If we are right, though, there are five more. It would be disaster if Palmacosta possesses one of these Archangels. It would mean disaster for our efforts against them. Unless we had our ow-"

"You can't unleash one of these things onto the world. What happens if we can't control it?"

"Well, what if it's not made of nothing...what if it is a special person that transforms into the Archangel. Maybe they're not evil; maybe you can make them good. We don't know. All we know is that they hold tremendous power, and it could win us this war. We also have a theory...it involves Terra."

"Don't tell me...you think Terra is the spoken of Archangel?"

"Well, 'Terra' in Latin translates to 'Earth' in English. She could be Iselia's savior." _the General said._

"Sir, I won't let you do anything to her!"

"You have no choice. I want you to make sure she gets the finest in magical and physical combat training. I will have you...taken care of if you fail to do so."

"Sir, please tell me you're kidding! We might end up killing this innocent girl!"

"We have no choice. It is for the safety of all our people."

"But-"

"No. Do it, or I will have you killed, and somebody will do your job for you. It would be illogical of you to disobey, for the girl will be the same either way."

_Aaron opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. He had no choice. He had to find Terra. He left immediatly to fulfill his duty of training her in magic. He looked out over the horizon of the ocean. He felt turmoil. Deadly turmoil. War hadn't even begun yet. This would be the war of all wars._

**RP #10 - cepussinboots. Posted on 5-30-06**

After having regained his emotions, Quandy didn't know what to think. Well, this was obviously confusion.

"I haven't felt this since... I was a boy," Quandy explained to Merlin, who had Quandy laying down on a table.

"This is very odd..." Merlin said, he was moving his staff up and down Quandy's body, projecting pictures of the inside of his body on the wall, like a magical version of an X-Ray.

"Look at this," Merlin said, pointing to a projection of Quandy's chest. "It shows a strange blue orb, just sitting there, paying no attention to anything around it... but i am confused... what is it?"

Quandy sighed, and sat up. "Perhaps this is my soul?" he exclaimed.

"Possible i suppose," Merlin replied "But why would you suddenly have it back, unless it had something to do with your awakening"

Quandy stood up straight, and walked to the wall, and touched the blue orb. "This... is too weird. I don't like it. But i suppose, in some ways, it will help me." Quandy said to the old wizard, who was pacing up and down the room.

"Look, i'll find somewhere to take the pictures. A team of research scientists... maybe Iselia would do. I hear they have quite the research department." Merlin went outside the room, after taking the pictures down and placed the pictures in his bag.

"I'm off Quandy... just... do whatever you do for fun, i wont be gone long" Merlin called forth his Drill Bird, and jumped on its back. "I hope" He muttered under his breath, as he took off in the direction of Mizuho.

Quandy watched as the old man flew off. He then walked outside the village. Just as he was about to walk off, a young woman came over and stopped him.

"Excuse me, Quandy right?" The young woman said, seemingly shy.

Quandy looked down at the innocent young girl, a pretty, yet serious looking figure. "Yes, and who would you be?" he asked.

The girl looked embarassed, "Alex" she said. "You... you were one of the people fighting weren't you. You were fighting with my father"

The name Alex... a tear came to Quandy's eye.

"Are you ok?" Alex asked, looking up at the man.

Quandy wiped the tear away. "Uh, im fine. Sorry... but yeah... your father. are you talking about..."

"Yes i am... he was the man who you became good friends with, General Kishen" The girl said, smiling. "He may be dead now... but, even though i am ever sad, i am also forever grateful. You avenged his death Quandy."

Quandy smiled. "thankyou" he said "i do what i can. If my friends get hurt, there is nothing that will stop me from hurting whoever did something to them. I live to fight, i live to protect. If i couldn't protect, what sort of warrior would i be?"

The girl, Alex, smiled, but then burst into tears, and wrapped her arms around Quandy. "I just can't believe he's gone" she bawled, as Quandy continued the hug, and tried to comfort her as best he can.

"I know, its hard" He said. "it happens to the best of us..."

Alex released Quandy, and then smiled. "take me back home" she asked. "I need to see my mother... I dont think she knows of my father's death"

Quandy mounted his horse, with Alex on the back of the horse. "What were you doing here anyway?"

The horse, Bromain, galloped off in the direction of Ozette. Alex clutched onto Quandy's waist. "I was shopping. I like the shops in Mizuho"

Quandy laughed, and together, they rode off to the enterance of New Ozette, to break the news of the death, disaster and destruction.


	13. A Duel, a Demon, and a Disciple

**RP #11 - Sekhmet. Posted on 6-1-06**

As the tempature grew warmer, the merfolk began vanishing from sight. As Vanim continued to assist on healing, she began to feel the heat. She leaned against the wall holding her head. She looked toward the ocean, thinking that was too far to walk, sitting down in a chair, she sat breathing heavily, she was tired from the use of magic and now the heat was getting to her.

**RP #12 - Rid Hershel. Posted on 6-3-06**

12:34 PM

_"...Hmmm, Eggbear. Looking at it just makes me hungry. I want some Eggbear Jerky!"_ Sorobaid thought as he drools at the Eggbear, clenching his fists. He stepped forward with his right foot, with his right hand pointing at the gigantic Eggbear, estimating to be about as high as over 8 ft, and about 4 ft wide.

_"Yo! Eggbear! Prepare to fight the legendary, cunning, and indestrucable Sorobaid Levent, aka Diaboros!"_ Sobobaid stood still, flexed and began to make some odd poses.

The Eggbear was dazed and confused, it raised it's right claw, and scratched the top of it's head.

Sorobaid raised both of his hands, as he slowly observed the Eggbear from a far distance away. He reached for his back, slowly unsheathing his sword. This sword was a Large-Sword, weighing at least 20 lbs at the blade. Normally, a Katana or any type of sword(s), the weight is directly on the handle of the sword, but for this special sword of Sorobaid's, the weight was actually on the blade, not the handle. As he unsheathed his demonic sword, the Eggbear roared and glared at him, then it looked at his sword. This sword, is quite huge and thick, it curves on the right side, and has several spikes on the left. On one side of thise sword has several embedded jewels, black jewels. The blade of this sword was violet, suddenly, a dark black aura forced it's way out of the sword, the Eggbear continued to observed.

_"Eggbear, meet the Dragonvein!"_ Sorobaid cackled, suddenly, he tried to lift the sword, pointing the tip towards the Eggbear. _"God dmn, this sword was heavier than I thought! I shouldn't have asked that one Dwarf to forge this sword with Ribavius Ore, jeez!"_ Sorobaid was out of breath, so he plunged the tip of the sword onto the ground.

Suddenly, the Eggbear dash viciously, spreading it's arms out, reaching for Sorobaid from far away.

_"..No more games. This ends now."_ Suddenly, there was a serious look on Sorobaid's face, his eyes darkened. With ease, he picked up the sword with his right hand, swirling it around his body, he then caught it with his left hand. Afterwards, he dashed directly at the Eggbear.

_**"Omega Demon Chaos!" **_

He yelled out, he stepped forward with his right foot and slammed his body onto the Eggbear, then he swung his sword downwards on the Eggbear, he chopped it once right across the chest. Afterwards, he swung his sword upwards, another slash right on the chest. He continued on and on until he hit the 8th slash.

_"This ends now.. **Dragon...**"_ Suddenly, his entire body lit up like a lightbulb, he swung his sword down. A blue aura from his entire body emerged, seeping out of his skin. The aura shot straight from his foot onto the bear at least 10 times, suddenly, he slashed the bear sideways from the left. Sorobaid grinned, and then jumped up while chopping the Eggbear upwards.

_"..**..Demon**.."_ He pressed as hard as he could while he swung his swords down, aiming at the Eggbear with the sharp edge of his sword..

_".**.CHAOS!**.."_ He yelled out as he sliced the Eggbear in half as he dived towards it, there force of the blow was so powerful that it created an X on the ground where the Eggbear was standing previously. Sorobaid jumped out of the ground while carrying the dead corpse of the Eggbear on his back, and smirked.

_"Game over, for you."_ Sorobaid put away his sword, suddenly, he saw a weird looking man, who seemed to be near his 90s or so. The man was walking out ofthe forest and into Ozette.

_"..No way, that guy is pretty old. Who can live that long? Hmm, I better follow him. It seems that he's heading to Ozette, that's where I was planning to go anyway."_ Sorobaid shrugged, and followed the old man slowly. _"Jeez, this Eggbear is heavy, that's what I get for trying to kill a ..fat Eggbear."_

**RP #13 - Sekhmet. Posted on 6-4-06**

While in the infermary, Anna's dreams tormented her with visions of Deadin's internal demon trying to kill her, then flashing to the burning building with fire all around her with no-way out as the wall collapse around her, then flashing to horrors of the merging of the worlds then to a seemly calm field as, her dreams finally where she was flying though the air and then dropped without warning, she woke up with a loud roar, the nurse in the room, dropped back but tried to calm the scared feline but would not approuch the frightened halfling, who slowly came to the realization that she was safe, as her eyes came into focus to find that she was in a bed... through ripped up through her dreams. She looked at the nurse, then laid back down in the bed, not really knowing why her dreams tortured her so. Looking over at Purrti who was out cold, she wondered what Purrti was thinking in her intence training, they nearly killed each other. She also wondered if she would ever see Deadin again, then drifted into a somewhat peaceful slumber.

**RP #14 - Sekhmet. Posted on 6-5-06**

Vanim entered the chamber that someone called a bathing room, when she glanced down at the water, the grime shimmered in a disgusting helo around the tub. She stood there, too exhausted to leave and too disgusted to stay, she heard a movement, turning she came face to face with a rough looking man but he look trustworthy but very talkitive, she realized he was a bard. He had felt and noticed her pain, seeking out the one of nature in need.

Bard: blinks momentary You're a mer... creature.. maid... um..

Vanim: I am a mermaid, a high priestess... Who are you? but before he could answer, she collapsed in his arm

**RP #15 - White Rose. Posted on 6-7-06**

"Hold on then, and I'll go get my dad..." Terra sighs as she looks at Merrick, then at the exsphere with some akwardness... "Feminine yet strong... your beauty toys with thy hearts of man..." Merrick begins to sing to Terra. "S..strong? B...bb..beautiful? Me...?" She rubs the back of her head in suprise, and blushes a bit. "Heh heh..." She sighs. "I think something in that forest got to you..." She chuckles and spins around, heading towards her house. "Those Minicoids are evil!" She laughs. Merrick sighs. "Thy fairest lady... lucky a man will be on that glorious day." He hummed again, as he got to his feet and waited for Master Irving.

"So old friend... Tell me, what happened to you in all these years?" Deadin stated to Kratos as he turned around, walked over to a bench behind Dirk's old but sturdy abode, placing the Excalibur upon it. Kratos simply didn't answer for one reason or another, and Deadin shrugged. He had finally giving up trying to draw the magnificant gift from it's equally as magnificant sheeth, and sat down to rest on the bench. The two were just slightly worn from a brief sparring match a few minutes earlier, and were awaiting Terra, who seemed to be taking her time coming to them. Kratos was standing across from Deadin in the expanded back yard of the small house, finally able to actually admire everything around him. The tall Evergreen and decidious trees growing around the estate, the beautiful, well cared for plants, and small garden growing in the small distance behind him were fragrant and pleasing to the eyes... The sound of the stream trickling along the banks of the front yard, the echo of the stream cascading down from the small waterfall under the bridge... It was all quite relaxing...

For once... Kratos felt peaceful inside... Perhaps this was Anna's warm presence touching his heart... never leaving his side. Perhaps it was the thought of finally being with his family again. Maybe it was a combination of all three things? Whatever it was, it seemed as if a great burden had been removed from inside of his soul, and blown away in the wind... He closed his eyes and smiled a bit. Taking a long breath, he exhaled and opened them up again.

Then it happened...

Catching the of Anna's grave in his eyes, they soon became fixated upon it... Kratos had invisioned this so many times in his mind, he could literally reach out and touch it ...The sight of Anna's tombstone... Her face, her body, her life with him and Lloyd.

His memories flooded back into his head like a raging tsunami... Memories of that awful time in his past...

_A toddler screams with fright in the arms of his father... An army of soldiers armed to the teeth, dressed in red and black march towards a man, a child, a large beast, and a woman... or... what was once a woman just a few hours ago anyway... And leading the army stood a corrupted man. The one responsible for the trio's current situation. _

_A half elf clad in blue, gold, and black, with neatly combed hair lying flat on his head, and a stern face. A Desian Grand Cardinal, and master of the local Human Ranch. They called him Kvar. _

_A fearful, shrill whimper from the creature standing beside the man startles him, and he turns towards his once beautiful fiancee. Staring into a big red eye, the man could almost view the face of his lover. A once beautiful brown haired, brown eyed escapee from that very same ranch. She... this creature that yearned to be human again, was once a woman named Anna... The man was Kratos Aurion. And the young three year old child was Lloyd. ...Their son. Anna was crying... and in great pain... Lloyd was also crying. The large beast called Noishe jumped inbetween the trio and their enemies, growling at the approaching desians. Even with Noishe by his side, Kratos was vastly outnumbered... _

Kratos shook his head and turned away from the grave. "No. I can't do this..." He says with a whisper and grits his teeth. He walked over to the tombstones and kneeled down in front of an unfamiliar one... He read what he could of it, and gasped. Some parts were covered in moss and plants, but he made out most of what the slab said. "Dirk Irving: Father, blacksmith, friend... His eyes moved to a larger word in the very center. "Hero." Kratos lowered his head a bit in remorse. He stood back up, still looking at the grave. "I'm sorry old friend..." He sighed.

"Th.. that's my grandpa..." Terra said as she stood at the corner of the house with her arms crossed and her head down some. She had just informed Lloyd of Merrick and the Exsphere, and had headed outside again, when she saw Kratos by the graves. Kratos raised his head, fully aware of her presence. "Yes. I know." He turned around to face his slightly startled grand daughter. "...I knew him well." He sighed again. "...I was not aware that he had passed. I'm sorry Terra." Terra walked and stood next to Kratos. She lowered her head. "...It's okay." She looks at his grave. "My dad told me what he did... how he helped to make some kind of ring..." Kratos looked at her. "The Eternal Ring." Terra blushed a bit. "Yeah... that one. I knew that..." Kratos smirked a bit and chuckled some. "You certainly have your parents in you." Terra looked at him a little angrily. "Hey!" Kratos smiled a tiny bit. "I didn't mean anything bad by that."

He thinks back to Lloyd and Colette's moments of absent-mindness during their journey together and he chuckles again. "I often questioned how those two got through each day." Terra blushes again. "Yeah... S--so my memory isn't the best sometimes..." She rubs the back of her head. "I'm sure you've forgotten stuff to, right? I mean... you've lived for so long..." Kratos sighs. "I have. It's inevitable really. A person's memory can only go so far before it starts to forget." He stares out at the trees, then looks up into the darkened sky. "Most of the memories of my past are blurred, so it becomes easy to mix things up, or lose information. The only things that I care to remember anymore are the important things that have the slightest meaning to me." Terra looks at him. "...Am I going to be one of those things?" Kratos startles a bit, then looks back down at Terra. He remains silent for a moment as he stares upon his granddaughter. "I mean... I never even knew that I had any family besides my parents, Dirk, and Colette's mom and dad. My dad talked about you, but he never said much..." Kratos smiles again at her. "...Of course you'll be." Terra smiles back. "Really?" He nods. "You're pretty cool, you know that?" Terra says. Kratos blushes a bit, and turns his head. "Thank you." He clears his throat, not use to compliments like that. He looks at her again. "You're ready to start training with Deadin and I, right?" Terra nods. "Yeah. I think so..." She lowers her head. "I'm a little nervous... and I know I won't ever be strong like you, but... I'll try." Kratos crosses his arms. "The first thing we need to work on is your confidence. Once you have that, all this will become easier for you. Trust me." She nods. "Yeah. I know."

Lloyd finally steps out of the house with something in his hands, and walks over to Kratos and Terra. "Hey dad, I thought that this would come in handy. I don't need to use it, but I thought that Terra might want to. They both turn around and face Lloyd. Lloyd unwraps the heavy looking object covered in burlap, and Kratos' eyes light up. "I haven't seen this in a while." He looks at Lloyd and smiles. "I see you've decided to keep the Flameberg with you." Terra eyes the sword. "THAT'S the Flameberg!" Her face glazes over with immense curiosity. "Wow..." She says. Lloyd takes the blade fully out of it's dust covered sack and offers it over to Terra. She looks at Lloyd, then at Kratos. "Wait... I can't use this... H... how do I use this? I mean, I know HOW... but..." Terra says at once, and with some hesitation. Kratos places a hand on her shoulder. "Just calm down... Take the sword."

She hesitantly extends her hands and Lloyd gives her the sword. "Wow..." She says with awe as she takes the sword by the hilt. Her arms strains a little under the weapon's weight. She scratches her head with her free hand. "...You sure about this? It's kind of heavy..." They both nod. Lloyd closes his eyes and smiles at her. "It'll take some time, but you'll get use to the weight." She waves it around slowly and with some effort. "I guess..."

Deadin steps out from around the behind the house. "I overheard what was going on..." He says quietly as the other take a moment to glance at him. He joins the others and eyes the Flameberg. "So... the sword of legend..." He looks at Terra. "This is a fine sword Terra. You should be honored that you father would even let you use this." He looks at Kratos. "Your old blade..." Kratos nods and Terra looks at him. "What...? You mean this was yours?" He nods again. "Yes. When I left for Derris-Kharlan I left the Flameberg here with Lloyd." Lloyd smiles. "And I've kept it ever since." He turns towards the front of the house. "I have a customer waiting." He starts to walk away towards Merrick who is standing by the stream, seemingly humming to himself. He stops and glances over his shoulder. "Oh and dad, there's something in the house for you. Zelos gave it to me in Iselia before he left. It's in a bag on the table." Kratos blinks a few times and Lloyd goes off towards Merrick.

"Hmm... I wonder what he left." Terra says. Kratos sighs. "I can only imagine..." Deadin chuckles. "Go get it. I'll take Terra behind the house to begin our training." Kratos sighs again. "Very well." Deadin disappears behind the house, with Terra lagging behind, carrying the heavy sword.

Kratos walks into towards the door of the house and opens it, but stops for a brief moment to observe Lloyd and Merrick. He picks up bits and pieces of their conversation... with one word sticking plainly out. Exsphere... 'I see there are still exspheres left in this world...' He thinks to himself as he looks at his exsphere planted firmly on the worn key crest, and resting on the top of his hand. 'I thought by now, you'd have gotten rid of them all Lloyd...' He thought again, as he shook his head in some frustration and walks into the house.

Approaching the table, sure enough... there was a white bag laying on top of it. Undoing the ties, he takes out the contents. Two shoulder pads, and a blue cape. A purple shirt and pants, a pair of black gloves and boots. Also inside was a letter...

Kratos opens it and begins reading.

"Kratos,

Just something I pulled together for you. Since your outfit was pretty much completely destroyed in that crash, I thought these would come in handy. It's not exactly like what you wore, but it'll do for now. It's the latest stuff here in Meltokio. It's light and manuverable, as well as resistant to some elements. I don't know about you, but I know I can't fight that well in a Kimono."

Kratos looked at the clothes he had on. A plain white Kimono with a red belt, and sandles. He continued on.

"You can thank my little beauty for the clothes your borrowing. You're welcome to wear these if you wish. We'll figure out what to do later.

Zelos"

"Heh..." Kratos said with a mixed smile. It was an odd gift, but he accepted anyway.

About 10 minutes later, the newly dressed Kratos came out of the house, and walked behind it to where Deadin and Terra were. Deadin tilted his head. "New clothes... hmm." Kratos blushed a bit, and Deadin laughed. "You look better now, don't worry about it!" Terra looks him over, closes her eyes and smiles. "Cool!" Kratos cracked a small grin. "Th... thanks..."

**RP #16 - Sekhmet. Posted on 6-10-06**

Several days later, Anna is out in the field practicing when a young warrior arises from the ocean, the large feline turns to face the mermaid.

: What are you?

Anna: I could as the same thing, merwarrior... however, I am a Elven Purrdi

: My apologizes, I am Alasse'. I came with Vanim. I think you should learn elven magic not the mortal magic... lowers her head but I may have spoke out of place.

Anna: chuckles you must be young for a warrior Alasse'

Alasse': I am over 400 years old but I would be considered a teenager. I could request Vanim' to teach you magic if you wish.

Anna: I think she already had that in mind... but I am uncertain... You do not seem to care that I am a halfling.

Alasse': It is humans that care most... I will return to my sqaud as we guard the shore. It is nice you meet you young half-elf. vanishes below the surface

Anna: I'm not that young.

She stared out at the ocean for a short time then walked to sit near the beach that was churned up, she came upon a small chest leaning again the flotem and jetsom. She knew she wasn't alone but she felt that way away from the forest that she called home.

**RP #17 - Newtype06. Posted on 6-11-06**

It was quiet. Dead silent, Deadin mused. The perfect scenario for a good duel. The two masters stood, inspecting their pupil. Terra was decently fit, able to run and lift her fair share. However, on a battlefield there was no such thing as "fair share". The lowliest recruit could be called upon to perform the same duty as a fierce and muscle-bound warrior. Testing out the weight of the Flamberge, Deadin noted that the weapon was far lighter than it should be, but still too heavy for Terra's slender arms. That would change soon, Kratos thought to himself, pulling the glove on his right hand tight to his skin.

Deadin spoke first. "Terra, there are many nuances to being a swordsman that many people overlook. True, it is a way of defending yourself, but it is also a way of _life_. A true swordsman seeks to better himself by becoming stronger physically and mentally. He lives honorably, using his skills with the sword to better himself and others. Those who cross him are given a chance to flee, before swift and deadly retribution crashes on them like water on rock. Do you understand?"

Terra nodded timidly, before raising her hand tentatively.

"Yes, Terra?" Kratos asked, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Um...what are nuances?" Terra asked.

With an exasperated sigh, Deadin took a knee and reached into his rucksack, producing the familiar length of rope and easily tying Terra's hands together. "Okay Terra," Deadin said. "I want you to stand on that fallen log. Without your hands to guide you, this will be more diffucult than you'd assume it would be." Deadin pointed to a thin log, barely half a foot in width, that rested on the forest bed a few feet away. With a nod of enthusiasm, Terra bounded over to the fallen tree, catching her ankle on a vine and face planting in the dirt.

"uhh…" Deadin managed to stammer, "Are you alright?"

"Oh yes," Terra laughed as she got up. "That happens to me all the time."

Terra gingerly mounted the fallen log, carefully adjusting Flamberge, which rested on her waist.

"Just wait there for a while," Kratos said. "We'll be right back." Turning about, Kratos and Deadin disappeared into the forest.

Terra felt odd, scrambling for footing on the thin log, and felt even odder wondering where her teachers had gone. Tense minutes passed, as Terra tottered on the edge of falling. However, it took almost six minutes, along with the increasing weight of the Flamberge, to topple Terra.

Falling off, Terra landed on her feet just off the fallen log. She barely had time to look around before it hit her. A flash of steel grey and a guttural grunt sent her careening to the ground in a heap. Landing face down, Terra looked up to see a pair of black boots alight in front of her eyes.

"Rule number one," Kratos said. "To slip is to die. Your enemies will always look for an opening, always look for you and your defenses to slip up. You may not see them, and you may not expect them, but they are always there. Get on the log again."

Terra did as she was told, brushing herself off and clambering back onto the log. Kratos again departed, this time accompanied by a large grey wolf.

The Wolf sniffed the air. "Something wrong?" Kratos inquired. Deadin replied in a horribly disfigured voice, "Someone is here, in the forest. I smell him. He's east of here, a few hundred yards off." Kratos' hand found his sword hilt. "Shall we go introduce ourselves?" he asked, as Deadin quickly transformed back to his Elven form.

Aaron Sage crept carefully through the Iselian Forest. Intel had pinpointed several Rheiards landing in the area. One of them had to be Terra's. The Half Elf officer made his way as best he could around several fallen logs and briar patches, until he finally caught sight of Terra. She was struggling to stay precariously perched on top of a rail-thin log. A twig snapped to Aaron's left, and the Major quickly drew his sabers.

"Hey Aaron, what are you doing here?" Terra inquired, trying her best to talk and balance at the same time.

"We were just going to ask…" Deadin started, stepping out from behind a tree behind Aaron.

"…the same thing." Kratos finished, standing up from where Aaron heard the twig snap.

"Impressive, gentlemen." Aaron said, bowing to the two swordsmen and sheathing his swords. "I have come here under orders from the Iselian military to take charge of Terra Irving's training."

Kratos and Deadin looked at each other for a moment, exchanging incredulous glances, before speaking again. "How old are you, kid?" Deadin asked of the half elf, beginning to pace slowly around.

Aaron stood at a rigid, perfect attention and stated "I am seventeen, sir."

"Seventeen?" Kratos said, mouth slightly open in shock. "The Iselian military sent a kid like you to see to this?"

"Excuse me, sir, but I must ask that you call me Aaron Sage, or simply Major." Aaron replied, back stiffening slightly.

"Sage?" Kratos said, stepping up to the half elf. "The same family as Genis and Raine?"

"They are my adopted brother and sister, sir."

Kratos turned his back to the young officer, eyes wide with shock. So much has changed, the old angel thought. Clearing his throat, Kratos turned back to the half elf.

"The Sage family is better known as spellcasters. What makes you think you can teach Terra the sword?"

"I have trained for four years in the elite Magic Swordsman division of the Iselian military."

Deadin burst into laughter, silencing himself abruptly when he saw Aaron was eying him with a look of irritation.

"Sorry, _Major_, but the two of us have been using swords for hundreds of years. I think she'll be better off with us."

"Excuse me, mister…?" Aaron said, finally breaking his stance and walking over to Deadin.

"Deadin, Deadin Draugdu." Deadin replied coldly.

"Mister Draugdu. But I am under direct orders to remove you two and take over here."

"Oh really?" Deadin said. "Well mister soldier, "remove" me."

Pushed to his limit, Aaron drew one saber and swung wildly at Deadin. The Elf stepped to the side, letting the blade pass harmlessly by him. Casually, Deadin reached out and poked Aaron in the chest with his forefinger.

"Great form," Deadin stated, stepping away from Aaron. "But, as I demonstrated, you left yourself open for a lethal counter attack."

Backing away, Aaron pointed his saber at Deadin. "Now you've done it!" he shouted. Pulling the saber close to him, the skies darkened and the air grew cold. Sparks ran the length of his blade, the tip still pointed at Deadin. The Elf drew his own sword, ready to block the attack.

"High Voltage!" Aaron shouted, and a circular ball of lightning erupted from his blade. Kratos stood by, watching the spectacle with arms folded. Deadin shifted his weight to his back leg, ready to repel what looked like a lightning bullet.

Much to everyone's surprise, the ball rose high in the air and laid down a hemispherical cage of electric power. Slowly, the cage began to contract, and Deadin began running out of real estate. Weighing his options, the Elf sheathed his sword.

_Is he giving up_, Aaron thought, concentrating to sustain the attack. Looking at Deadin, Aaron noticed tufts of grey hair growing on his neck. Deadin seemed to be mumbling something to himself, almost stuttering.

The blast generated by Deadin's forced transformation was enough to throw Aaron off his feet. A deafening roar erupted through the forest. Aaron was thrown to his back, seeing stars and the tops of the trees. He heard heavy steps crunch the leaves next to him, and a rough hand grabbed him by his collar, lifting him into the air.

Shaking the stars from his eyes, Aaron only then noticed the thing that Deadin had become. He was face to face with a growling, snarling Wolfman. The thing was nearly seven feet tall, a wall of muscle. Evil green eyes stared straight into Aaron's. The voice the creature issued forth could barely be recognized as Deadin's.

"Happy now, little soldier? That was quite an interesting attack you launched."

"Stop, Deadin." Kratos said, stepping forward and easing the arm that Aaron was attached to down. "We may have some use for this one. He is a Sage, after all."

The Hybrid stepped back, twitching involuntarily. The Beast within longed to rend the half elf from limb to limb. Deadin did his best to suppress the Beast, easing himself into his Elven form. "Yes, I guess we can. On one condition, though. We have the ultimate say in Terra's training. She can learn your magic, boy soldier, but we are her true teachers."

Aaron looked down at the ground, only looking back up when Deadin cleared his throat. "Alright," he said. "But her spell training is my job. As Kratos said, I am a Sage. None of you can touch me when it comes to magic."

"Agreed." Deadin said, reaching forward and shaking Aaron Sage's hand.

Tottering helplessly on the log, Terra finally stammers "Uh…Can I get down now?"

**RP #18 - Sekhmet. Posted on 6-11-06**

Meanwhile at the ocean shore, Purrti found her student looking forlorn

Purrti: What is wrong?

Anna looked over at Purrti, shrugging, she wasn't totally sure herself, then showed the chest to Purrti and the bodies that lay forgotten on the beach.

Purrti: Hmm... maybe we should take this to Lloyd.

Anna merely nodded and followed her mentor back to the village to Lloyd's house. As they approuched the door, gently opened the door, they heard voices in the back room discussing what they should do next.

**RP #19 - Rid Hershel. Posted on 6-11-06**

**Chapter 1: Enter the Diaboros**

As Sorobaid walked near the old man, he heard some footsteps approaching from behind him. He turned around to see that there are 2 knights following him. These knights were covered in armor all around their entire body, very hard armor made out of what seems to be Titanium and other alloys.

"…" Sorobaid looked at the ground, then slowly, he closed both of his eyes while crossing his arms.

"Diaboros, we've finally caught you! You're wanted for the several cases of murder, the bounty on your head right now is at 300,000 Gald. Any last words before I chop off that head of yours!" The knights laughed.

".. Heh. Idiots. Fine, just to let you in on a little secret, do you know why I killed those scientists?" Sorobaid opened his eyes, and glared at the knights, surprisingly, he was still smiling. There was a demonic look on his face, the knights could see it in his eyes. His eyes turned crimson as he continued to glare at them.

"It seems that you've stolen some sort of special Flare Bottle that they were experimenting on. I believe it makes the user surpasses his body's limit, thus increasing the person's strength and speed. So? It doesn't matter, you're going to die right here, right now!" The 1st knight spoke, his right arm reaching for his sword on his back.

"…I'll end this now." Sorobaid slowly reached for his cloak with his right hand, he pulled it off, revealing his armor. Suddenly, his strange red cloak slowly transformed into a weird looking dragon-skull shaped helm.

"W-w-what the..?" The knights stuttered and stared right at Sorobaid with despair.

Sorobaid held on tightly to the helm and slowly equipped it on his head.

"…I don't care about others, I don't care about the laws, I don't care about what you think, and I certainly don't care about killing you. I only strive to gain power, my quest for power never ends. As much as I hate to kill, if I must, I will." Diaboros cackled and stared at the knights, suddenly, his right arm reached for his Dragon Vein.

"…This ends now." Diaboros thought as he closed his eyes, pointing the tip of his Dragon Vein at the ground.

"Whatever! That weird looking sword and helm doesn't scare us, you're nothing more than a criminal! DIE!" The knights both yelled out as they ran towards Diaboros, pointing the tip of their swords towards him.

"**Sonic Chaos!"** Diaboros opened his eyes, and with his Dragon Vein, and slash the ground horizontally from the left side to the right side, creating a small Demon Fang at his opponent. As the first Demon Fang reached the knights, Diaboros slashed the same way again, but this time, he put more force into it, a gigantic Demon Fang followed the 1st.

The knights looked at Diaboros, seeing the distorted figure of a man wearing a dragon-skull helm. Suddenly, the knights got knocked by the 2nd Demon Fang, they slammed onto a gigantic 25 ft tree behind them.

Diaboros glared at them, and withdrew his sword. "Bye-bye." He mocked them.

Suddenly, the tree cracked in half, splitting apart from the middle of where the knights had gotten slammed into.

"SNAP!" the tree broke off into 2 pieces, the top part falling off, clashing onto the ground.

"…Time to head to Ozette. I have no time for these 'games'." As Diaboros took a step forward with his left foot, the knights slowly stood up, they pointed their swords at him.

"…. Still alive, I presume? I was hoping that attack would finish off you pathetic fools." Diaboros crossed his arms, and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, the 2nd knight fell down on the ground.

"Well, at least now I know that one of you are dead. Are you still trying? You realize that you could take this opportunity to run away now, riiiight?" Diaboros said as he cracked a smile.

"Grr.. You killed my best friend, I'll kill you, you son of a .." The knight ran towards Diaboros, holding onto his sword, he aimed for Diaboro's stomach from the behind.

Diaboros, letting his guard down, got stabbed right in the stomach.

"D-d-damn you." Diaboros spat out blood from his mouth, he turned back to look at the knight. Suddenly, he drew his sword and chopped the knight's head off. Blood spewed from the knight's neck, the corpse slowly fell onto the ground.

Diaboros took several seconds to look at how the ground has been tainted by blood, he pulled the knight's sword off his body. Suddenly, he took off his helm, and changed it back to a regular cloak, this time, he tied the cloak around his stomach.

"..This wound.. I can't survive for very..,long, not like this.. Must head to.. O-o-ozette." His eyelids slowly closing, suddenly, the old man that saw him headed back to see that Diaboros was injured.

**RP #20 - Genis Sage. Posted on 6-12-06**

"What the...?" Lloyd asked, indicating the figure Merrick held. The two had been conversing for several minutes, but apparently Vanim had escaped Lloyd's eye until then.

"I'm confused too, a lot of stuff has happened and I wound up travelling with these cat-things." Merrick replied, slowly placing Vanim on the floor so he could relax his arms.

"You mean Katz?" Lloyd asked. Merrick shook his head.

"Nah, I've seen plenty of Katz, these are more like panthers. Anyways, let's not get off topic, back to the discussion we were having!"

"Oh, them!" Lloyd said, but not pursuing the topic. "Anyways, you say you have more questions? Now would be a good time to ask, since the others have gone training." Lloyd spoke to Merrick in a casual voice. "What else do you want to know?"

Merrick sighed. "I understand that exspheres are amplifiers that amplify a person's potential above and beyond their natural limits, but how are they made, by who, and why?"

Lloyd almost smiled. "That's right, you're too young to remember the Desians."

"Desians?" Merrick replied, confused. "What are Desians, exactly? I've heard that word before, somewhere..."

"Desians ceased to exist about twenty years ago, now. For hundreds of years, they terrorized the people, killing and making them slaves. Now, think. If they were taking slaves, why bother wasting food on them, when the world is slipping down the path of destruction?"

"It is?" Merrick gasped.

"No, it was, a long time ago. over four thousand years ago, the world was split in two. Each planet drained the mana from the other world, reversing the flow every time a Chosen of Regeneration completed his or her journey. The chosens were selected by Cruxis, who weren't really angels, but mostly half-elves who evolved angel abilities and traits by using an evolved exsphere called..."

"... a Cruxis Crystal." Merrick replied. "I... I have a lot of faith in Martel, and had heard rumors to this effect, but I never dreamt they were true. Why did that nice lady lie to me when I asked about it?"

"That's probably Colette, Terra's mother, she..."

"Her mother? Really?"

Lloyd sighed. "Yes, her mother. She doesn't want to tell a lot of peole the truth, since times are hard and she doesn't want people to feel powerless without faith."

Merrick sat, overwhelmed by all this information. "So, there is no Martel? No Angels, no Summon Spirits?"

"Oh, there's summon spirits, all right!" Lloyd smiled. "My friend Sheena is a summoner!"

"... you don't mean... Chief Fujibayashi of Mizuho? I heard that she got together with one of those Chosen people you talked about, is it true?"

"Yup, it's true. There won't be any more chosens after now, with Cruxis gone, but the last two are Zelos and Colette. Colette was nearly killed by Cruxis so many times, I lost count. It was hard on all of us, our group of eight, struggling for survival, but somehow, we reunited the worlds."

"Are you really that powerful?" Merrick asked.

"It was because of the Summon Spirit, Origin, that we were able to reunite the worlds. I just have a better exsphere then most people... I thought it was one of a kind, until I saw yours."

"Mine is different than Kratos's? I thought the color was different..."

Lloyd paused. "Here's the deal. I may need some assistance, and you want to get the information you want. If I tell you, you have to test your strength against me, and if I think you're good enough, I'll ask for your help."

"With what?" Merrick asked.

"Just keep an eye on Terra for me when I'm not around, okay? She could use a good friend her own age. She's always running errands for me, she doesn't really ever seem to hang out with anyone, either that, or I'm just stupid and haven't noticed."

Merrick chuckled. "Okay, sounds good! I'll keep an eye on her, now, how are exspheres made?"

There was a pause, and an odd feeling of impending doom. Merrick almost knew the answer before it left Lloyd's mouth, and it hcilled him to the bone, as well as scarred his soul.

"Human lives are sacrificed to make these things."

"... and how are ours different? Were they made without a sacrifice?"

"I can only wish." Lloyd told him. "My friend Presea was going through the same process, but we managed to save her. A special key crest that had the opposite effect of a normal one, that is, a special key crest that gives the exsphere more control ofer you, rather than the opposite, is placed on you, along with an exsphere. It eats away at you slowly, creating a Cruxis Crystal. Should the key crest and exsphere be removed, you get one of these. I don't have a name for them yet, since I thought mine was unique."

Merrick remained silent. "I obviously don't know whose mine is, but do you know who your exsphere was being made inside?"

Lloyd hesitated. "My mom..."

Again, a long pause from Merrick. "At least now, I know. These people died, hundreds or thousands, by the sound of things. It'd be a waste just to throw them away, but we can at least live their share, doing things both us and the person who died only ever dreamed of, right?"

"Yeah, that's right!"

Merrick sighed. _'If ignorance is bliss, where are the smiles? All the tears, flowing all the while, Struggle and regret will only ever get you more misery, so listen to me, um...'_ his brief little talking in sing-song moment ended. "I didn't know what to say after that."

"A bard, huh?" Lloyd asked. "That's pretty good!"

"Thanks."

"Anyways." Lloyd told him, "Let's go test your strength now..."


	14. Walking Alone

**RP #1 - Newtype06. Posted on 6-16-06**

Kratos and Deadin stood, watching their pupil mimic the odd gestures and utter the strange incantations Aaron was showing her. Nearly a half hour passed without any spectacle. Deadin was starting to worry. Finally, he could take no more, and called Aaron's magic training session to a halt.

"Time for us to work, Terra," Deadin said, reaching into his trusty rucksack for another miscellaneous item. This time, Deadin produced a single bell, not unlike the type you would put on a sleigh. Deadin shook it once, testing it's quality. The bell rang true, producing a clear ring through the forest. "Perfect," Deadin said.

Kratos stepped forward. "Terra, the purpose of this exercise is to eliminate unnecessary movements in your strike, and to further improve your balance and coordination. For now, though, I want you to use _this_…" Kratos produced a simple wooden sword, and tossed it into Terra's hands.

Deadin stepped forward, a thin cord and the bell in his hands. "Excuse me, Terra," Deadin said, extending his arms and wrapping the cord around her waist. Deadin tied the makeshift belt together, and secured the bell at the knot.

"Okay," Kratos said. "Now swing at me." Terra did as she was instructed, easily missing Kratos. However, that was accompanied by a shrill ringing. As Terra moved, she disturbed the bell.

"Again," Deadin said, hands clasped behind his back. "This time do not disturb the bell. Try moving slowly…Like this" Deadin slowly and smoothly executed a simple horizontal strike. "You must be fluid, like water. Think of yourself as water…"

Terra tried again, still ringing the bell. "Not quite," Kratos said, crossing his arms in front of him. "So give me five push ups." Terra grunted as she sunk to the ground. "A warrior must be at his best at all times. You should be able to do fifty push ups and still swing that sword. Remember, every drop of sweat in training is one less drop of blood in battle."

_Yeah_, Terra thought, _but...pushups?_ Terra slumped down, starting her first push up. "One…Two…"

**RP #2 - Sekhmet. Posted on 6-16-06**

At the door outside Lloyd's house, while waiting for an answer, Purrti and Anna talked about the training, Purrti decided she would lay off the magic and teach strickly the weapons. Anna remained confused so shrugged, then it hit her, elven magic as what the mermaid was speaking about. Purrti's ears pricked as she heard movement within the house, she carefully knocked on the door once more as not to harm her claws. Anna stood wondering why the mermaid say that her mistress would be the one to teach her elven magic

**RP #3 - AngelicAura. Posted on 6-17-06**

Fields about 1.5 kms. from Palmacosta

"Sir, have we located the burial site yet?" one soldier asked.

"Bohem's coordinates say it's somewhere near that lake over there." the second soldier replied.

"Men, get ready. We're going diving! Remember to use the technology that the science lab provided us! Hopefully they do end up letting us see and breathe underwater!" the secondary general of the Palmacostan general shouted.

_Let's just hope this doesn't end up killing us. We lost a lot of men over in Iselia, the btards._ the general thought to himself.

The small army hustled to the lake, and a handful put small machines over their faces.

_Let's hope the Amphibian Replicators work. Those scientists over in R & D aren't exactly the best._ the general thought.

The handful of soldiers with Amphibian Replicators dove into the water. The lights on the masks flicked on and illuminated the waters surrounding them. Theylooked down and saw a destroyed ruin about 45 feet below them.

"Why didn't anybody ever find this before?" a soldier asked through his mask.

"We figured there wouldn't be anything in the lake. Besides, we'd never have known what it was even if we did find it," the general replied, "Anyway, the Governor said to shoot that device at the center of the ruin."

The soldier with the device shot out a torpedo-like projectile at the ruin. It made contact quickly, and the ruin exploded, revealing a hole in the surface. It was bubbling violently.

"Quick, back to the surface. The rest of them are there, ready to fire." the general told.

The group resurfaced, sopping wet. A spellcaster ran over and cast a fire spell to dry them quickly. The top of the lake was beginning to bubble just as violently as the hole was just a minute ago. Then, like a giant Spread spell, a creature flew out of the water.

The gigantic creature was a beautiful color of blue. It's body was covered in scales. It was spinning, shaking the water off of its body. It opened its eyes, which were bright blue in color. It had webbed toes and fingers. It flapped its bright, glimmering aquamarine wings strongly, blowing gusts of wind at the people who had just awoken it from it's long slumber.

"Fire, spellcasters!" the general shouted.

The angelic creature dove back down into the water to dodge the attacks. It created a gigantic wave to sweep it adversaries into its element. The spellcasters quickly put up shields to protect the others. The angel spiraled out of the water, creating a water spout, which quickly died back down into the lake. It swept over the army and picked up 10 soldiers with each hand. It dove back down underwater to drown them. Their bodies slowly surfaced, and the bright blue eyes shone from under the surface. It unleashed another typhoon at the army, and managed to sweep about 7 into the water. It drug them down with a violent undertoe of water, and drowned them as well. At last, it jumped out of the water again, and hovered above the army.

A bright ball of light appeared in the Archangel's right hand. The ball of light quickly turned into a glowing double-sided arched pendulum (AN: Much like Yuan's weapon). It launched to the ground. The army ran to avoid the weapon flying at them. The Archangel simply swept down, taking the weapon with him. Then, the spellcasters all casted Lightning on the Archangel. It hit the ground, but quickly flew back into the air. The monstrosity swept its weapon violently to the army. It took out another 20 of them. The others were beginning to worry. There were only about 100 left. This thing could easily take them out if it wanted.

"THUNDER BLADE!" the general shouted loudly.

A large blade of electricity struck the Archangel on the arm, pinning it to the ground, then electrocuted it. The general demanded a full on charge on the beast. Everybody knew what to do.

"LIGHTNING BLADE!" the ones closest to the Archangel shouted.

"LIGHTNING!" the ones in the back roared.

The assault of Lightning struck the Archangel. It appeared to be paralyzed.

"Let me finish it off!" the general shouted.

The small amount remaining looked at him apprehensively.

"That was an order!"

The group backed off.

"INDIGNATION!" the general chanted.

A large cone appeared around the Archangel. Its eyes opened, glimmering in the sun. It let out a whimper, and a tear fell from the beast's eyes. A godly bolt of lightning struck down on the Archangel, killing it.

"We did it!" the general exclaimed.

Then, a bright flash of blue light emitted from the corpse of the Archangel. It broke into 6 pieces, and surrounded the general. They circled him, slowly coming together just above his head. They then combined into one again, and dove into his body. The Archangel's body then disappeared with a cloud of haze. All of a sudden, another bright flash emitted from nowhere, and a gargantuan group of Tarivians appeared. They all bowed to the general. They were covered in blue scales over their torsos, with arms and legs of green scales. The heads had no scales, but fish-like ears. Their fingers and toes were webbed, long, and slender, like a frog's.

"General, it worked! Just like the War-General said it would!" a soldier cheered.

A large cheer followed the soldier's, and clapping to boot. Then, the Tarivians slowly faded away.

"Wait, where'd they go?" another soldier questioned.

"I told them to return to what they were doing before. I can summon them whenever we need to. Before we attack Iselia with these almighty creatures, though, we need to do some research. If we can increase the numbers, we tip the scale even more in our favor. We need to find out as much as we can about these things. Let's go, men. Back to Palmacosta." the general said.

The men didn't want to return to their home. It was in ruins, with memories of dead loved ones waiting for them. The Tarivians attacked it, demanding to know where the Necronomicon was located. The people had no idea what it was, but the Tarivians wouldn't take it. They devastated the land. Luckily, some of the buildings stood strong. The Church of Martel, the Academy, the Mayor's Building, and the Military Headquarters had scars, but were still there. It was still like walking into a funeral to go home though. Silence. Dreadful silence.

**RP #4 – Dragoon Taryn. Posted on 6-17-06**

Ellyria and Yuan landed their Rheairds outside of the small patch of trees that surrounded Lloyd's house.

"Hopefully Kratos hasn't left here yet, right?" Ellyria said, shooting a glance at Yuan.

Yuan nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, I am rather tired of this chase he's giving us."

"Right, but... he's your friend and ally, and he's really stong, right? I've heard stories..."

"Right, Kratos the great swordsman and hero," Yuan mumbled.

"Pardon?" Ellyria asked, giving Yuan a puzzled look.

Yuan stood up straight and started walking. "Nothing at all. Let's move forward."

"R-right!"

The pair walked through the small thicket of trees, reaching the small house. Outside the door, a pair of felines were waiting, one slightly knocking on the door.

"Yikes!" Ellyria shrieked, jumping behind Yuan and hugging his waist. "Werewolves!"

Yuan sighed. "Are you really a mercenary? You jump at everything."

"Um, of course I am! There are... so many strange things... y'know, that I... haven't seen," Ellyria replied as she started turning red, focused more on the fact that she was hugging Yuan again.

"Well, I've never seen a savage beast knock on a door, so I think you can go ahead and approach them."

"Right! I'll do that!" Ellyria jumped back in the lead and headed forward, hoping Yuan wouldn't notice that she was blushing.

Ellyria approached the felines quickly. "Hi there! You guys have business here too?" she asked in an overly cheerful voice, "We do as well! Hope someone's home!"

Without giving the pair a chance to reply, Ellyria started banging loudly on the door. "Yoo-hoo! Anybody home?"

**RP #5 – Kevin1292. Posted on 6-17-06**

As Kyoshi was heading to Lloyds house to ask if he needed anything, he heard loud banging on Lloyd's door. He started walking a little faster, eventually running, just because he wondered who was there before they went in. "Wow there are a lot of people at Lloyd's today, is he throwing a party?" Kyoshi asked to no one in particular.

"I don't know, but who are you?" one of the women asked.

"My name's Kyoshi, I'm a local mercenary, just came to see if Lloyd needed anything, and to say hi."

"I see. I'm Ellyria, I too am a mercenary."

"Who are the cat people?"

"Who knows, but I'm Yuan by the way."

"How long have you been waiting here?"

"Not long, but we're not sure about the cat people." Ellyria said turning her head toward them.

"So you two are here together?"

"Yup."

"Well I guess we should wait for Lloyd then. He usually doesn't take this long."

**RP #6 –Newtype06. Posted on 6-17-06**

Deadin stooped down, almost to eye level with Terra. She certainly had gotten better over the past few hours. She was finishing the last of her latest slew of pushups, sweat dripping off her brow. Digging into his rucksack, Deadin produced the last of his obscure training implements: a small clay bowl.

"I'll be right back," Deadin said, as Terra finished her pushups. "You just keep practicing with Kratos." Terra nodded, and picked up her wooden sword.

Deadin wandered off a little, looking for a pond or stream. It took him about fifteen minutes, but finally the Elf found a small brook, with clear, pure water trickling through. Deadin quickly filled the clay bowl, and was careful not to spill any water as he carried it back to the training area. The clear ringing of a bell and the loud, exasperated sigh of a young girl were music to Deadin's ears.

Approaching the group, Deadin saw Terra on the ground doing another slew of pushups. Deadin knelt down, showing the bowl of water to Terra.

"Oh…Thank you…" Terra gasped between pushups. She leaned over, inching ever closer to Deadin's hand and the bowl. But before her lips could touch the water, Deadin yanked the bowl away.

"Up," Deadin yelled, holding the bowl at shoulder height. "A swordsman fights to protect that which he cares for. Should he fail, it dies. Do you want this water?" Terra stood, nodding. "Then, fight for it."

Terra grabbed her sword, looking for an opponent. Deadin smiled, shaking his finger at her. "One last thing. A swordsman will feel the weight of his duty." Deadin stepped forward, placing the bowl on Terra's head. "Now, attack me."

Terra swung, and immediately the bowl tipped over, dumping most of the water onto the ground below her. Growling in frustration, Terra picked up the bowl. Deadin nodded to Kratos, who began showing Terra some more sword basics, as Deadin refilled the bowl. It had been a long day, and was only gonna get longer…

**RP #7 – Sekhmet. Posted on 6-18-06**

While at the door, Anna ear twitched as she overheard a female voice exclaim _"WEREWOLVES!"_, rolling her eyes with disgust, she turned seeing a small group of people walking toward the house, she heard the man repremand the female as they come forward, Purrti merely glanced over saying in a saractic tone in her own language with a roll of her eyes _"Humans..."_ and snorted with disgust.

Anna: agreeing with Purrti as she turns to speak _You speak as if we don't understand you or have no sence of the common tongue of humans, just because, we don't have humanoid form. roll eyes Typical humans. I was with Lloyd's group before they left the other town on the other side of the forest. I fought the alien creatures as well._ turns to speak with Yuan and nods _Thank you for the defence, for what it was. My name is Anna, I am a half elf and this is my mentor, Purrti of the Purrdi Clan. _

Purrti merely glares at Ellyria then turns to look at Yuan but speaks to Anna in her own language.

Purrti: As you would say "cat people" Anna had a hard time keeping from laughing

**RP #8 – Newtype06. Posted on 6-19-06**

Hours passed, and Terra, despite being totally soaked, was getting better, Deadin noticed. Though he probably would never tell her, she'd made more progress in one day under his and Kratos' direction than Deadin ever had in a similar amount of time. She had a fire in her eyes that Deadin could only admire. Shrugging microscopically, Deadin realized finally just _why_ Terra was so gifted. She had the lineage going for her.

Terra had managed roughly eleven swings without tipping the bowl before Deadin finally spoke. "I guess that's…acceptable, Terra." Deadin said, stepping forward and relieving Terra's head of the bowl. "Now, you will learn the most important lesson for today. A long time ago, before I ever trained with Kratos, an elf named Niten showed me how to handle a sword. As we would train, he'd shout out his principles, something he called 'The Way of Walking Alone'" Deadin sat down on the grass, indicating to Terra that she should do so as well.

"Now, I'm sharing them with you, my pupil." Deadin said, drawing his broadsword. "I want you to hold your weapon as you consider these principles. I want you to mimic every movement I make. Understand?" Terra nodded. Deadin contemplated trying to draw Excalibur, but put the thought aside. "Now, 'The Way of Walking Alone'…" Deadin started, eyes drifting into the past, drifting to those days in the rain, repeating sword strike after sword strike, perfecting his technique with the harsh, but talented master.

"Consider yourself lightly; consider the world deeply." Deadin started, laying hand and sword on the ground. "Respect the gods and Spirits, but do not depend on them…." With this, Deadin stood up, sword in hand. "Do not turn your back on the various Ways of this world." Deadin spun, bringing his sword about in salute to the falling sun. Terra slowly and carefully mirrored the move. Kratos stood by, admiring the truth in old Niten's words. "Do not lament parting on any road!" Deadin said, his voice mounting as he completed a flourishing strike, dipping the sword tip low and spinning it back upright. "Though you give up your life, do not give up your honour!" Deadin's voice reached its greatest intensity, as he planted the sword tip into the ground in front of him. Hearing the thud of Terra's sword as well, Deadin continued. "Do not intend to rely on anything!" Yanking the sword out of the ground, Deadin thrusted the blade into the air in front of him, arms fully extended. He waited a moment for Terra to finish her movement.

"While on the Way, do not begrudge death!" Deadin said, slowly turning himself and his sword towards the moon's path. Deadin lowered his sword. "And _never_ depart from the Way of the Sword." Deadin slid his blade into it's scabbard with a resounding ring.

"Congratulations, Terra Irving," Deadin said, "You have begun what will be the greatest test in your life."

"Um, thanks" Terra said, a little nervous.

"My Master insisted that I walk alone through life. The same does not have to be for you. But take these words to heart, for they can and will help you."

"Whatever happened to Niten?" Kratos said.

"He died." Deadin answered. "He was killed in the night by a Wolf."

"Oh…" Terra said, not willing to continue the subject.

"Anyways," Deadin said, crossing his arms, "You might as well get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be just as hard."

Kratos and Deadin exchanged a knowing look, as they slowly set up camp.


	15. Catastrophes

**RP #9 – Genis Sage. Posted on 6-20-06**

Kratos walked at a quickened pace. After all, there were monsters about, and monsters only get more dangerous after nightfall. He didn't notice a tree root and tripped over it. In frustration, he decided to fly the rest of the way to Lloyd's house, in order to pick up some food for Terra's breakfast. Heavy training often leads to a heavy appetite, and Kratos didn't want his granddaughter collapsing from malnutrition. Again, he paused. Shaking his head, he almost laughed. _'I'm still not entirely sure that I have a grandchild... heh.'_ he thought to himself, reflecting on how he never thought he'd see Lloyd again, and happy it wasn't a dream.

Meanwhile, back at Lloyd's house, Lloyd's sparring match with Merrick was postponed because of everyone that had shown up to see him. Lloyd was accustomed to visitors, however, and was well trained in the ways of being a good host. "Okay everyone, I'll see you all in a minute. It's late, and I'm sure you'd all like something to eat!" Everyone nodded enthusiastically. "Okay, I've never tried making this before, so bear with me. I'll be turning off the lights, don't be scared, it's crucial to the recipe."

"Oh? And what recipe are you planning on making?" Yuan asked.

Merrick nodded. "Yeah, I mean, any number of things can happen in the dark." he placed a protective charm over Vanim's still unconscious body, hoping to help protect from whatever foul dish Lloyd may be cooking up. "So, what are you cooking?"

"Dwarven Pot-Luck Surprise!" Lloyd said wiuth a big grin, blowing out the lanterns.

"Dwarven Pot-Luck Surprise?" Exclaimed Ellyria, as all went dark.

"I'm scared!" Merrick half-shouted as various bangs and clunks could be heard from things being unceremoniously thrown into a large pot. "He's grabbing large blunt objects to hit us with!" Merrick was now almost half-sobbing. "OW! See? He attacked me!"

"That was me." Yuan chimed in, "I was trying to shut you up. I seem to have failed." Merrick groaned, as the noises continued.

"Almost done!" Lloyd said happily, as he threw his own boot in the pot. He lit the stove and the lanterns and said "Okay, now we just have to let this stew for a bit."

A sigh of relief all around, except for the insulted and hurt Merrick who rubbed the back of his head, holding back tears. "That was really, really mean!" he said to Yuan, and got the same general response all around, "Stop being such a crybaby!" Merrick wiped his eyes. "Hey, no one tells a bard to shut up, that's the most hurtful comment one can possibly say to me!" Merrick sighed, as he walked towards the general direction of Vanim.

"Huh?" came a less-hurt voice. "My protective charm! I gave it to this mermaid, and it's gone!" His eyes then noticed a silver chain poking out of Lloyd's pot. **_"YOU THIEF!"_** Merrick Lunged at Lloyd, who ducked and bumped into Yuan. Yuan took a swing at Lloyd and missed, hitting Ellyria. She got mad and Punched Yuan back, as Merrick kicked Lloyd into Purrti, as Anna and Kyoshi just stood back hoping not to get dragged into anything...

Kratos merely stood 20 yards away from the house and heard all the commotion. "I suppose I should go hunting, then." He said to himself, and walked away.

**RP #10 – Sekhmet. Posted on 6-21-06**

At the side of the room, Anna blinked watching the antics, glancing at the commotion that was going on. Shrugging, she went down on all fours in a more protected position as someone, she wasn't sure who came flying over her head and hit the wall with a loud thud. Just bearly turning her head, she saw that was it was Ellyria, look dazed. Anna tilting her head in a quizzical manner, her ears moving rapidly as Purrti roared as she picked herself up, shoving Llyod off her and attacked Merrick but only knocked him down and sat on him like a big cat sitting on a small creature and merely looked down at him as he yelled and screamed that he was going to Lloyd.  
Purrti leaned down, looked at him with her yellow eyes, smiled evilly then she licked his face, with her tail twitching. Purrti looked back up turned her head to stare at Anna, who started laughing at the unheard comment of the human bard tasting horrible but was fun to pick on. (OOC: This is a nearly 200 lb feline sitting on Merrick).  
Purrti then preceed just to lay down on him, and yawn, her canine teeth very visible and she folded her front arm on his chest and looked down. Vanim remained unmoved by everything around her.

**RP #11 – Genis Sage. Posted on 6-21-06**

Groaning under the weight, Merrick struggled to get up. "Oh darn, I still have magic." He said, as he dropped a big sphere of Water over Lloyd's head. This pushed his hair down over his eyes, and he tripped over a chair as Merrick chuckled evilly. "Ugh, can't breathe... any longer..." Merrick slowly passed out as those around him slowly became aware of how barbaric they were being, and slowly realizing that Merrick started it. _'At least I won't be awake for the worst of it...' _

**RP #12 – Sekhmet. Posted on 6-27-06**

As Llyod was splashed with the magical water and stumbled over the chair, some of the water splashed off him and hit Vanim, she moaned softly but that was all. Anna suddenly realized that what she needed was water, clean water or salt, she assumed it didn't matter as the other ganged up on the bard that was under Purrti, she went to see if she could find water that might help this mermaid.

**RP #13 – White Rose. Posted on 6-30-06**

Nightfall...

After what seemed like an eternity of push ups, standing on paper thin logs, wearing bowls of water on top of her head, and the constant annoyance of a small bell ringing in her ears, a sweat soaked and sun beaten Terra finally got the chance to take a break from it all as the day finally ends. Lying out in the dew covered grass behind her house and breathing hard, she struggles just to move her arm. "Ugh... I'm totally drained..." She takes a deep breath. "This sucks... Why did dad have to make that awful Dwarven Potluck suprise?" She says as her stomach churns in disgust. "It's not like anyone ever eats that weird concoction... What the hell does he even put into that anyway!" She sighs... "And why is there a big fight in the house now? I remember the last time dad made that awful stuff and the gang was here. I got whacked in the head with a boot, Aaron got a kendama thrown at him, Genis got a wrench to the back of his head, Zelos got burned in the ass by a Fireball, Sheena got blown into the wall by Air Thrust, then dad got covered in magic cards... Not much even made it into that stupid pot..." She sighs in frustation, out of exhaustion, and out of hunger. "Ugh. I can't move, and I'm starving... I wish he would've made some real food..." Her stomach growls. "Bleh... I'm done..."

Emerging out of the woods after his small hunt, Kratos hears what he thinks are voices coming from behind the house. Laying his hand on his scabbard in a defensive stance, he slowly makes his way there. The cloudy night and thickness of the forest around the small house blocked out most light around the back. As he walked, he slowly delved into small thoughts about the day. The fact that he has a granddaughter, how quickly she was learning proper swordsmanship, reuniting with his old friend Deadin... the Tarivians... He stopped for a bit as he thought more about these mysterious creatures. _'Why do they wish to find the Necronomicon, or the Book of the Underworld? What do they intend to do with these...?' _

Continuing on, and completely oblivious to Terra's presence for one reason or another, he nearly steps on her. Terra rolls out of the way in the nick of time, and Kratos soon finds a wooden blade at his stomach. Startled, along with Terra, he jumps back out of instinct, and Terra springs up to her feet. "Whoa!" She shouts and Kratos takes a step back, laying his hand down on the sword, gently lowering it from his body. He smirks a bit. "Good. Your reflexes are getting faster." Kratos' face comes into the moon light as it finally peeks out through the clouds.

Her eyes widen, and she jumps. "Grandpa! I...I'm so sorry!" She says as she puts away her sword. He chuckles. "I'm unharmed. But you came incredibly close to laying a hit on me. Not bad for being surrounded by darkness." She blushes. "Th...thanks..." She eyes the dead animal in his hands from his short hunt in the forest. "Eeeek! What is that!" He lays it down on the ground. "Tomarrow's breakfast." Terra looks at the Rabbit with both a drooling mouth, and a feeling of disgust. "I hate killing stuff like that... but..." Kratos tilts his head. "But?" She creeps closer to it... "I'm starving..."

Kratos raises an eye, sighs a bit, and turns around and looks at the house. Listening, he hears alot of yelling, breaking dishes, people falling over... "Are they still at it?" He says. Terra slumps, lowering her head. "... I don't get my parents sometimes... Why my dad even makes that putrid stuff is a mystery to me..." Kratos turns back around. "Alot of the things those two did were mysteries to me. I use to question whether Lloyd was really my son sometimes..." Terra busts out laughing, and Kratos looks at her. "...What did I say?" She turns to him. "I don't know. You're just funny when you talk about my parents like that. I guess it's because you're so different from them." Kratos looks up into the sky. "I didn't always use to be so serious and stoic all the time." Terra raises an eye to that. "Really? You? Not serious?" Kratos smirks. "You forget how long I've lived." He pauses and breaths. "People change over time. It's a simple, proven fact." Terra looks into the sky with him. "I'm guessing I know what caused you to change... I mean Mithos.. and then my grandma..." She lowers her head. Kratos turns his head to her and places his hand on her shoulder. "That's not for you to worry over. ...So don't."

Silence surrounds the two... until a growl of hunger emits from Terra's stomach. She turns about three shades of red, and laughs a little... just slightly embarrased. Kratos shakes his head and shuts his eyes smiling. He sighs a bit afterwards. "Alright... This was suppose to be for tomarrow, but if you must..." He turns to the woods, ushers to her, and begins to walk. "Come on. We'll set up a small campfire near where we trained earlier today." Terra claps her hands and hops on one foot. "Yay!" She quickly joins him.

They arrive at a small clearing in the woods. The clouded night sky looms over head, and the sounds of the forest echo through the night. "I use to walk through the woods all the time when I was younger." Terra says as they begin prepping the area for the campfire. Kratos returns with some stones from the stream nearby and starts placing them. "Even at night?" Terra gathers up some sticks and kindling and brings it over. "Yeah. But I wasn't worried. Noishe was always with me." She smiles. "I use to ride on his back when I was really little. I still do sometimes, but not as much." They finally gather the last of materials, and get a couple of logs to sit down on. Terra sits and Kratos stands over the site. "I use to do the same thing long ago. Even when travelling with your father." He smiles a bit. "I'm glad Noishe continued to watch over you all. I wanted my son to have a future, so that was the one thing I asked of him before I left..." He sighs, and sticks out his hand. "Alright, pay attention. I'm not sure how this Sage boy will teach you magic, since you wear no Exsphere... but what I'm about to do is fairly basic. This will be the first and easiest spell you'll learn." Terra nods, and Kratos concentrates a bit until his hand begins to glow a reddish orange. In a matter of minutes, an brightly colored ball of orange, yellow and red appears and hovers over his hand. "Fireball!" He says with force, and directs it over to the sticks atop the rocks. Soon, a fire starts, and begins to blaze. "Wow... I can't believe that power comes from an exsphere... it's so weird..." She says with a mixed reaction. "Why does Aaron want me to learn this stuff anyway?" Kratos begins prepping their meal. "I don't know... it may have something to do with these Tarivians. But I have yet to understand why you were chosen." Terra crosses her arms. "I'll have to talk to Aaron. I don't get this... and it scares me..."

With their stomach's full about an hour later, the two sit side by side on a single log. Terra burps a bit, and blushes again covering her mouth, and excuses herself. Kratos shakes his head and smiles. "Better?" She sighs with relief, stands up and stretches. "Very..." She sits back down. "You've got a long day again tomarrow. You should get some sleep. Let's go back now." Terra gets up and goes to some soft grass on the other side of the fire. She lays down on it. "Nah. This is better. I like sleeping outdoors." She looks at him. "Come over here! It's no fun talking to myself..." Kratos shrugs, and walks over to Terra, then sits down on the grass next to her.

They talk under the stars, watching the clouds roll by for a while until the fire finally burns out, and all becomes silent again... The breathing of a sleeping teenager catches Kratos' attention and he smiles. Removing the cape from his back, he covers her in it. "Sleep well Terra..." He breaths and finally lays down himself. Crossing his hands over his chest and with a knee up he looks at the night sky. _'I don't know what's going on. But I intend to find out.'_ He thinks before closing his eyes and resting for the night...

**RP #14 – AngelicAura. Posted on 7-1-06**

_Aaron awoke from his sleep. He had a rather boring day today, with the failure of Terra to learn any magic at all. He had thought about why she couldn't learn magic, and watched her while she was training with Kratos and Deadin when it hit him. It was so blatantly obvious. He had no Exsphere, and had no elven blood at all. He had run off to the Iselia Research Lab to ask if somebody had a spare Exsphere, but they explained that Lloyd had taken all of the Exspheres. It was then that the half-elven scientist from Sybak approached him with an alternate idea. She explained to him a special substance that, when you inject it into the bloodstream, will allow the user to act just the same as if they had an Exsphere. Aaron was relieved, and asked for some. The scientist ran off into the storage room. It took her nearly 20 minutes to return, but when she did, she came with a needle containing the substance. She explained exactly where to inject it, and put it into a sterile bag so Terra would not become ill from a dirty needle. Aaron took off back to the training grounds, and went to sleep for the night. _

_Now, he was ready to awake Terra for her magic training. It was about 5:30 in the morning. He stepped into her tent._

"Terra, wake up." _Aaron said softly._

"Aaron? What are you doing in here?" _Kratos said, waking up._

"It's time for her training. I wanted to do water spells, and it's best during high tide, which is right now." _Aaron explained._

"Fair enough. But you better not make her too tired to practice with us." _Kratos said._

"She can go to sleep when we're done. We'll only be a couple of hours," _Aaron told,_ "Now, Terra, are you awake?"

_He leaned over her, and she opened her eyes, jolting up and hitting Aaron in the face with her forehead. Aaron fell to the ground, and rubbed his head._

"Oh, Aaron! I'm so sorry! You scared me!" _she exclaimed._

"No, it's alright. You have a hard head, you know that?" _Aaron joked._

"Oh…" _Terra sighed._

"Well, let's go. Training time." _Aaron said, pulling her up._

"Already?" _she complained._

"Hey, this is the easiest way to learn your Water magic." _Aaron told her._

"Oh! Speaking of magic, how will she learn to use spells without an Exsphere?" _Kratos questioned._

"This," _Aaron said, holding out the needle,_ "will allow her to act just the same as if she did have an Exsphere."

"You're going to _drug_ her?" _Kratos yelled._

"No! I'm surprised you haven't seen this. This is something that Tethe'alla made awhile back, apparently. I believe Zelos used it, too."

"Oh, that. Well, it won't harm her, correct?" _Kratos asked,_ "I won't allow her to be harmed because of a foolish mistake."

"A scientist sterilized this for me, and showed me just where to insert it. She made sure to explain in excruciating detail, and that I had it imprinted in my brain."

"Fair enough. Terra, are you okay with this?"

"I…I-I don't know. Will it hurt?" _Terra asked. _

_Kratos sighed._

"You're afraid of pain? You must lose it. It will hinder you." _Kratos said._

"Well, hey, you have to admit, sometimes, you need a fear. But, Terra, it will only hurt for a split second, I promise." _Aaron said._

"A-alright." _Terra stammered. _

_Aaron pulled the needle out of the bag, and used a pad that the scientist gave him to numb the area the needle will go in. He then poked the needle through her skin, and injected the chrome-colored substance into her bloodstream. Terra winced until the needle left her arm._

'That wasn't that bad, was it?" _Aaron asked._

"Yeah, it barely hurt." _Terra said._

"Well, let's go."

_Terra and Aaron stepped out of the tent and walked for awhile. They eventually reached a beach. The water rose very high onto the sand. Terra relaxed to the sound of the waves. Then, she jolted, remembering something she wanted to show Aaron._

"Hey, Kratos showed me how to do this last night! Watch!" _Terra exclaimed. _

_She held out her hand, and it glowed orange. A ball of fire appeared over her hand, and she shouted "Fireball!" and it shot to the sand, and the flames died._

"Hmm, not bad. I plan on teaching you more advanced magic though. I guess that you saved me a minute or so." _Aaron explained. _

_Terra hung her head. She thought she had made a real accomplishment, but Aaron apparently thought otherwise._

"Alright, well, while high tide is still here, I want you to walk in about ankle deep. Oh, and take off your shoes." _Aaron told. _

_Terra obeyed, slipping her shoes off, and letting the wet sand slip between her toes. She felt relaxed by the sound of the waves crashing again. The moon behind her head was shining brightly on the ocean. It was truly a beautiful sight. Then she stepped into the water. It was chilling, but not freezing._

"Now, call out Aqua Laser while holding out your sword in front of you." _Aaron told._

"Erm…" _Terra stammered._

"Well?"

"I didn't bring my sword. I didn't think I'd need it."

_Aaron shook his head and sighed._ "I'll be right ba-"

"There's no need," _Kratos said, emerging from the shadows nearby,_ "I have it. I figured she would need it."

"Are you spying on my practice?" _Aaron asked._

"No, just observing." _Kratos replied, smoothly._

"Alright, well, no point in telling you to leave. It won't affect anything. That is, unless Terra doesn't want you to stay. But, I will take the sword," _Aaron said, walking to Kratos to get Terra's sword,_ "So, Terra, what do you say?"

"No, grandpa can stay." _Terra shyly responded. _

_Kratos recoiled. Did she really just call me grandpa?_ he thought.

"I mean…Kratos can stay." _Terra said, seeing Kratos' response._

"Alright, well, just do what I told you. Hold your sword out in front of you, towards the ocean. Concentrate, and say Aqua Laser."

_Kratos scoffed. Aaron quickly told him to shut up, and let Terra take it away. She tried once, and nothing happened._

"Again." Aaron said.

_She tried, and this time, made a small jet of water in the tide._

"One more time."

_She tried once more, and managed to lift the water and shoot it out towards the sea._

"Alright, good. Again."

_She tried again, and managed a full Aqua Laser. It shot out in a straight line towards the ocean, and slowly fell to the ocean again._

"Good, good."

"That was quick. Why can't she learn that quick with sword handling?" _Kratos asked._

"Magic is easier to learn to use, I suppose. It took some intense training for me to even learn how to handle the sabers as I do now, and you and Deadin can find obvious flaws in my form. Then again, I hardly have to fight with my sabers. My magic takes care of everything." _Aaron replied._

"Are you done ranting? Get back to training Terra." _Kratos snapped. _

_Terra was staring at the two of them. When she was noticed again, she quickly spun around, pretending not to be looking._

"Very inconspicuous, Terra," _Aaron joked,_ "Now, put that nice sword down. Try the Aqua Laser without it."

_Terra handed Aaron the sword, and concentrated on the water below her. She said Aqua Laser, but nothing happened._

"Easier with something to channel your energy into, isn't it?"

_Terra nodded._

"Again."

_Terra tried again, still nothing._

"Again. Until it looks like before with the weapon."

_Terra tried again and again. Eventually, she got it. The sun was starting to rise, and the tide was starting to get lower and lower. She had learned Spread the same way as Aqua Laser by the time Low Tide came around._

"Alright, now for Fire spells. The Fire spells are much easier to learn than Water. We'll go straight to Eruption since you've mastered Fire Ball. Let's go into this clearing." _Aaron said, leading away from the beach._

"Alright, with these, I want you to try out this new technique. Watch what I do."

_Aaron took off running, holding out his sabers. His eyes were closed, though._

"That's odd…what's he trying, Kratos?" _Terra asked._

"I don't know. Just watch. He knows what he's doing. He's a Sage." _Kratos replied. _

_All of a sudden, Aaron started striking the air with his sabers._

"Amateur sword handling." _Kratos noted. _

_All of a sudden, a large dome of fire appeared out of the ground as Aaron was attacking._

"Wha-what?" _Kratos gasped. _

_Aaron ran back over._ "It's new. You cast the spell while you attack. It takes control, but once you practice enough, it's simple. Just let it flow." _Aaron explained._

"Uhm, I'll try." _Terra said._

"You can do it. But, let's just learn Eruption first. Just hold your hand out similar to Fire Ball, except pick a spot in the ground, and move your hand like you're lifting the dome out of the ground."

_Terra nodded, and tried it. Cupping her hand in air, she shouted Eruption. She got a dome that could cover a rabbit to appear._

"Good. Again."

_She did it again, and got a pretty large dome to appear._

"Once more."

_She succeeded in getting a full sized dome of fire to appear._

"Good, good. Now, here's your sword. Starting swinging like Kratos and Deadin taught you, and casting the spell you just learned."

_Terra forced a smile. Aaron and Kratos watched intently to what was going to happen. She swung the sword, trying to follow Deadin and Kratos' lessons, and shoot the spell off. She didn't get anything though. Kratos sighed at the sight._

"You think she can handle this so early?" _Kratos pointed out._

"She can handle it. I know she can," _Aaron snapped,_ "Again."

_She tried again. Nothing._

"Again. Until you get something."

_She tried again and again, to no result._

"Just give up. You're wasting time." _Kratos said._

"No. Again, Terra. Try to not shout the spell, but shout it in your head. It will allow you to concentrate more on your attacking."

_Kratos scoffed._

"Shut up or leave." _Aaron told. _

_Terra started again, running and attacking. She swung her sword, and then a small dome of fire emerged from the ground. Kratos gasped._

"See! I told you, Kratos!" _Aaron cheered. _

_Kratos simply exhaled. Then somebody emerged from the nearby woods._

"Hey, what's going on? Practicing already?" _Deadin asked._

"_Another_ person bothering my practice?" _Aaron sighed. _

_By the end of the practice, Terra had learned two of every type of elemental attack, including Shock Wave, Air Thrust, Stalagmite, and Ice Tornado. She had also done pretty well with the moving casting technique._

"Well, this has been quite a successful session. Now, I'm afraid I have to end it." _Deadin said._

------------------------------------------------------

_Meanwhile at the Iselia HQ_

"Take it down!" _shouted the War General,_ "Where's Sage when you need him?"

_The soldiers were fighting against the creature that had just been placed on the dissection table the other day. The angel-like red monster was attacking the Headquarters. It had broken a hole in the roof in the Research Lab, and flown out to the outside to pummel it with fire balls the size of meteors._

"Strike it down! Lightning!" _the War General shouted. _

_Lightning bolts appeared everywhere. The Archangel of Fire was struck through the wing with one, and started falling. Catching itself, it flew high in the air. It held its hands out, and a large flash of red light in the hands of the creature. The light was replaced with two flaming spears. It launched them at the army below it. Then, two more reappeared. It continued launching an assault on the grounded enemies below. Finally, the army went on the defensive, casting shields every time a spear was thrown at them. Then, it would switch to Lightning again._

"Switch to using Tornado!" _the War General commanded. _

_Out of nowhere, many funnels of swirling air appeared around the Archangel, dragging it down to the ground. The military moved in for a frontal assault. It simply used Explosion on the enemy. Their numbers were dwindling fast._

"You've got to be kidding me!" _the War General shouted, angrily,_ "Take it down, NOW!"

_The army started casting random spells on the creature, trying to pin it down to the ground so they could attack it. Anybody close enough to the enemy was either burned to death, and suffered from third-degree burns. Finally, they stunned it._

"Water spells, quickly!" _the War General shouted. _

_The remaining members of the army all used Spread at the same time. The Archangel was sent into the air, and came crashing back down._

"Let me finish it!" _the War General shouted,_ "Tidal Wave!"

_A large typhoon finished off the beaten Archangel of Fire. It disappeared in a bright flash of red. Then, a large flame engulfed the War General. Several men started running to him._

"Stop! Let it happen! It's not hurting me." _he said. _

_The army stopped. The flame entered the general's body, and with another flash of red, the area was filled with Tarivians with spines poking out from nearly every inch of their body. They shot them into the air, and they fell back into the Tarivians. They then bowed._

"Perfect. Exactly what we need to win this war," _the War General grinned. _

_They disappeared in an instant._

"I'm reporting the good news to the Mayor. Good work, men," _he said, heading to the Mayor's office. _

**RP #15 – Genis Sage. Posted on 7-1-06**

Headaches all around, as everyone's stomachs protested painfully. It was morning, and all was settled. The protective charm Merrick had placed upon Vanim now hung around his own neck once more, after having recovered it from Lloyd's giant dwarven pot. Vanim had woken up as well, but was confused by everything and felt like a fish out of water, so to speak. Now, Anna and Purrti were trying t fill her in on what had happeened. Lloyd and Merick had reconciled after the fight, and even Yuan forced a very fake smile about the night's events.

"I am not a morning person..." Merrick yawned, as Lloyd told him to get his sword ready.

By now, everyone knew of the friendly contest Merrick and Lloyd would compete in, and wanted to watch the events. Lloyd welcomed them to watch the fight, then to handle his business with everyone.

"Wow, an audience..." Merrick commented, as Lloyd prepared the ring for their sparring match. Merrick started to get nervous. "Darn it, I'm a bard, not a fighter! I perform song, not finesse..."

"Oh, suck it up." Yuan told him, "Silly songs mean nothing if you can't fight alongside your friends, otherwise, you're just a liability and best left behind." This stuck a nerve, and Merrick had a painful flashback of his friends that he made as a mercenary over the years and how some of them met painful deaths.

"You..." Merrick glared right into Yuan's eyes. "I'll show you... liability to my friends? You... you can't even imagine what it's like, watching them die as their own inability to fight cost them their very lives as I was busy fighting my own attackers... ugh!"

Yuan held merrick's neck in his hand, suspended off the ground. "Don't make assumptions if you wish to achieve your goals." was all he replied, obviously angered by Merick's outburst. Merrick paused, realizing that perhaps Yuan had indeed witnessed the same type of adventures he had.

Shruging off the feeling of impending doom since he was no longer about to be choked, he picked up his sword, the Obsidian Catastrophe, and headed for the ring. It was a circle drawn in the dirt and grass, on the other side of the river away from Lloyd's house.

"The rules." Ellyria read from a list Lloyd gave her. "No wan is aloud too... um, who wrote this?" she asked meekly. Yuan rolled his eyes. Lloyd groaned. He raised one hand to get her attention.

"Okay, so my spelling still needs work. I'll say the rules. One! No dirty hits, sand in the eyes, noe of that. Two! If you set a foot outside of the ring, you lose. That's al there is to it. Are you ready?"

Ellyria sighed. "Why couldn't he just say that in the first place?"

"GO!"

Merrick charged, but Lloyd jumped clean out of the ring! His wings appeared and laughed. "Rule number one! Never agree to rules your opponent lays down; they might end up killing you. You see? I can't touch the ground, right? but am I?" Merrick groaned, as Lloyd hovered about 4 feet off the ground, about 4 feet away. Barely out of reach, too...

Merrick lowered his weapon. "Booooriiiing, I wanted a fight..." Secretly however, his heart was racing; could he get wings and fly, too? He wanted too. That would be much faster than walking everywhere.

"Rule two! NEVER let your guard down!" Lloyd said as he charged. Merrick blocked, but almost flew out of the ring. Suddenly, Merrick's field of vision turned a shade of yellow; as his hands and sword's runes began to glow red. Time had stopped, motions were ceased, though they could still talk, and his weapon was taking over. "No... not again, not now!" he gasped, as Lloyd simply looked at the sword.

"What...?" he asked, as a pillar of flame errupted from Merrick's feet, sending Lloyd crashing into his house! "UGH!" Lloyd gasped as time resumed. The tongue of flame dissapeared, as time froze once more.

"No, not again! Stop, you'll kill someone!" Merrick shouted at his sword. This time, Dravity became distorted, sending Merrick alone flying. "I wish I had more control of this weapon!" Merrick screamed, as he fell into the river.

"What the hell is going on?" Yuan asked. Merrick dropped his sword in terror.

"Sometimes... sometimes, it does these things. Sometimes it hurts me, sometimes it hurts others. I... I don't want it to happen again... I can't control it... I don't know why, the magic is too strong!"

Suddenly, time froze once more. The Obsidian Catastrophe lifted off the ground, and turned on Yuan. "NO!" Merrick cried, as he broke free of the enslavement of frozen time and dove in front of him. A serious stab wound tore right through his left arm, but the sword spun around and began to move again. Without thinking, He grabbed the handle with his right arm, and the sword flew away, with him holding on to it!

"Damn!" he swore, "It almost never does this, why does it pick now of all times to to wonky?" He became dizzy and disoriented as he whipped between the trees at such a high speed, in circles... It changed paths, and collided into a tree less than a minute later.

By this time, time had resumed, and a group had noticed Merrick's misfortune. Terra raced over to him and called. "Hey, K... Kratos! It's him, the guy who went to see dad earlier! What happened?" Merrick had fallen to the ground, yet his sword remained stuck.

"First Aid!" Kratos quickly cast on his wounds. "I don't know, but I did feel a great power not long ago, like a distortion of sorts..." He noticed the weapon lodged in the tree. "This sword... it feels... never mind, the feeling's gone now. Terra, keep watch over him! I must go check with Lloyd to see what happened!"

Terra sighed. "Oh sure, get the dangerous job! This sucks!" She then grinned slightly. "Oh well, a break is a break..."

Deadin, however, merely shrugged. "Kratos is gone and told you to keep watch. True, one of us must keep an eye on him, and it takes 2 to train. I suppose we can take a break... after all, that Aaron fellow seems to be enjoying his nap over there..."

Sure enough, Aaron was asleep at the base of a large tree, and had no idea at what had just happened. Terra almost laughed.

Meanwhile, Merrick opened his eyes... and saw the hilt of his weapon right above him. Merrick screamed and jumped up, alerting the three (as this woke Aaron) to his presence. "I must uncurse this sword, but how?"

Aaron approached the sword and examined it. "There was once great power in it, but it has been used up. My guess is that you subconsciously store your body's mana in it, and it gets too built up. If you can learn to release it at the right moment, you may be able to control it...

Aaron taught Merrick how to purposely store mana in his weapon, as well as release it, yet every time it yielded a completely random result, the funniest being turning himself into a goose temporarily. After an hour, they realized that the Obsidian Catastrophe could not be controlled.

"I guess this weapon has completely random effects." they agreed. "Just use it's power every now and then to lessen the negative effects... yeah, should work..."

"One last try." Merrick said, as he grasped it. He was blasted off his feet and flew headlong into a tree again, knocking him out...

**RP #16 – Dragoon Taryn. Posted on 7-3-06**

The group watched as Merrick went flying into the air.

"Think he'll be okay? That was so weird," Ellyria remarked.

"Heh, an amateur like that, wielding a sword with such power..." Yuan muttered under his breath, then said louder, "Miss... Ellyria, I'm going to find Kratos now. He's supposed to be around here, hopefully."

"Oh, I'll go with you!" Ellyria replied, turning to wave at the others, "Okay, we're off!"

The pair entered the dense part of the forest to search for the area where Kratos, Terra, and Deadin had made camp.

"You know Miss Hi... Ellyria, it isn't necessary to come with me now. You're a mercenary, correct? You should go back to your guild."

"Ah, well..." Ellyria began, "Business has been slow lately, I can't get back to Asgard to finish my current job. Palmacosta closed off its borders due to their attack on Iselia, and now these weird alien things have been showing up? And they attacked me! I think I'm better off sticking with you for now. Um... until I can find more work."

"Hmmmm," Yuan replied before turning his attention back to the forest in front of him.

_Worst reply ever,_ Ellyria thought, mentally kicking herself, _I might as well have said I was lonely and wanted a traveling companion._

After a while they came to a small clearing, where they found a young girl, an older man, and a teenage boy surrounding their missing bard.

"Ha, well, at least we know where he ending up," Ellyria said, trying to suppress a giggle.

Yuan just shook his head and chuckled. "Indeed."

**RP #17 – Sekhmet. Posted on 7-5-06**

As mermaid and the two felines talked and watched the humans fight, Purrti explained part of the fighting to Vanim and to Anna. The mermaid grew bored until the sword went wild. Anna blinked, mewed a question to Purrti, who merely laughed. The three girls left to go find something to do, besides watch humans try killing each other. Purrti spoke with Vanim regarding training Anna in elven magic, Vanim looked at Anna and questioned her in elven regarding the magics, she already knew. About an hour or so past and Vanim not fully satified with Anna's answers, agreed to teach Anna elven magic.

**RP #18 – Sekhmet. Posted on 7-6-06**

Vanim take Anna to the field beside the ocean, Purrti watches at a safe distance... though she thinks what is safe distance with magic? She watches as Vanim has Anna face the ocean to practice the spells making them somewhat safer then toward the land. She watches as several merfolk scatter at Anna's first attempt and Vanim reframing from smiling as they dove under dodging the fireballs. Several hours pass as the sky grows dark, Vanim suddenly turns to look around as if she sences something and calls Purrti over and points toward the sky.

Purrti: Dark magic grows above... something wicked this way comes

Vanim: True. By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes... (ooc: ok. enough of MacBeth) starts laughing at Anna's expression We need to warn the others...

Anna: We may not have time... points toward the forest if anyone it would be those in the forest not the town.

**RP #19 – Sekhmet. Posted on 7-9-06**

Vanim looked over at the forest, a place she has never been in her entire life. She, however, agreed whoever what in the forest was going to be attacked, as to when she was uncertain.

Purrti: Fun, Mermaid in forest... talk about a fish out of water...

Vanim: smirks And the cat is out of the bag... Began laughing as Purrti made a face sticking out her tongue Shall we go into your world as you big fuzzballs wouldn't be comfortable in mine.

Anna: HEY!

Vanim: chuckling Let's go... It's time I visit your world

The three take off into the forest, Anna and Purrti pointing out different floral and fauna to Vanim, who was taking everything in with great awe and wonder.

**RP #20 – Sekhmet. Posted on 7-10-06**

Vanim knelt beside a doe as her fawn looked on in wonder, the doe had been injured by some creature, Anna and Purrti for the time being stayed their distance as they watched her. Anna commented to Purrti that they are going to have to go hunting soon as the human's food was not that satisfying and the sight of the deer was not helping, nor was Vanim scent of fish. Several minutes later, they came upon the campsite of Deadin and the others but they had already gone to go practice some place. Purrti and Vanim decided it was time to head out of the forest hopefully to the oceanside so Vanim could introduce them to the young merwarrior that recogmended Vanim to Anna. They quickly headed out not finding the danger that they were sencing.


	16. The Army from Exire

**RP #1 - AngelicAura. Posted on 7-13-06**

_Later on in the day, Aaron and Deadin had returned to the training grounds to meet up with Kratos, while Merrick and Ellyria returned to Lloyd's house for more practice, while Yuan had to fly off to run some errands. Of course, Aaron's practice with Terra for the day was finished on Deadin's account, which annoyed Aaron, since they were finally making great progress. Now, he was bored out of his mind. _

_Aaron watched Kratos and Deadin training Terra. They seemed to know their stuff. Aaron decided that the three didn't need a spectator, and that Aaron would give the War General an update, and maybe make a deal with him to spare Terra from testing. He walked to the HQ and spent three minutes getting through all the security again. Then, Aaron approached a receptionist, requesting to have a meeting with the War General. The receptionist called the War General and told Aaron that he was welcome to enter immediatly. Aaron humbly obliged, wanting to get it over with as soon as possible._

"How is everything going with training, Aaron?" _the War General asked._

"Oh, that was exactly what I was coming to speak to you about. It's going very well." _Aaron replied._

"That's not the only thing you wanted to speak to me about, is it?" _the War General said._

"Erm...no," _Aaron said,_ "I also wanted to try and make a bargain with you to keep Terra out of harm's way. She's just a teenager. She has a whole life ahead of her, and if you're wrong about this whole assumption, she could die!"

"Look, Sage, if we're right, then that puts us in great shape in this war. You see, we just obtained an army of aliens for ourselves. It seems that the creature we found was not dead. The Mayor relunctantly had earlier gone to see an Elf Elder about creatures called Archangels. We found that they control certain types of aliens. If you kill the Archangel, you get the commision of that Archangel. So, we were pleased when we saw it wasn't dead, just unconscious. We killed it, and we now have an army of aliens that can shoot spikes out of their bodies. We have entitled them Berserkers. We plan to take on Palmacosta with them, as well as anybody that stands in our way." _the War General explained._

"That's just reckless, Sir." _Aaron said._

"It's self-defense, Sage! Palmacosta apparantly had an Archangel lodged in their empire, and they too obtained an army of aliens to use against us. We had to have some way to protect ourselves, or we'd be completely doomed. As another plus, Palmacosta is pushing their borders even further!"

"So you're fighting fire with fire..."

"Even more so. We're planning on taking over everything from here to New Ozette!"

"What?"

"Well, like you said, fighting fire with fire. They can't defeat us if we're exactly the same as them, can they?"

"Sir, you're being very reckless and foolish. I refuse to let this happen!"

"What are you going to do about it? I can easily have you killed if you resist somehow.

"Who's to say I can't kill you? You're putting innocent people in danger, and including other nations in your personal war with Palmacosta!"

"You didn't answer my question."

"I...I...I'll make my own army! Somehow, I'll do it. I cannot allow you to do what you intend upon doing."

"You'll never get out of this room alive. All I have to do is push this button, and an entire guard will come rushing in here to kill you." _the War General said, motioning to a red button titled Alert._

"You'll never get the chance!" _Aaron said, whipping out his sabers._

"Ah ah ah. Don't make the wrong decision. Just be a good boy, and obey." _the War General replied, running his finger over the Alert button._

"Never!" _Aaron said. _

_Aaron held his swords at arms length, and smashed them together. The resulting explosion through dust into the air and made an enormous hole in the wall behind Aaron. The drop below was at least four stories. Aaron heard an alarm going off. The War General apparantly hadn't flinched, and pushed the Alert button. Aaron's only escape was through this hole. He jumped before the dust cleared out._

"UPDRAFT!" _Aaron said, pointing a saber at the ground. _

_A current of wind rising up slowed Aaron's decent so that he landed on the ground softly and safely. Aaron took off to the training spot. He ran up to Deadin, Kratos, and Terra. He told them exactly what the War General had said to him just a few minutes ago._

"You mean all this training is so I can be experimented on?"_Terra shouted._

"No, my training was so you could resist if Iselia came after you. I just pretended that it was their orders so nobody got hurt. These two had nothing to do with Iselia. Now, we need to get you out of here, Terra. Deadin, Kratos... I would like to ask you to help me. We need to get an army. We're going to take out Iselia. They cannot be allowed to do what they plan." _Aaron explained._

"I go if Terra goes." _Deadin stated._

"Where do you plan to make a base?" _Kratos asked._

"Well, there's Exire. It's abandoned now, since half-elves can freely live on the land. It would be perfect. Nobody could get us up in the sky, and we can land easy aeriel attacks. If we get a hold of Yuan and Raiden, we can get Rheiards for everyone." _Aaron told._

"Sounds like a good plan. We have to round up people. Terra go to Lloyd's house. Deadin, protect Terra. Iselia's army will probably be looking for her, because Aaron is trying to take her away from them. I'll find Yuan and Raiden. Aaron, you'll have to go into hiding, since the entire Iselian army is after you. Everybody meet in the outskirts of Iselia, heading towards Triet, in an hour with anybody you can find to fight." _Kratos said._

"Alright!" _they all said at once. _

_Aaron took off to a favorite place to go if he just wanted to escape Iselia for awhile, near the sea. It was his special little place. He hid there for awhile. _

_When an hour had passed, everybody gathered at the meeting spot Kratos had designated. There was good amount of people. The size of a small army. They all had gathered supplies and provisions for their exodus from Iselia. Kratos flew in right in front of Aaron, and Yuan landed next, carrying Raiden. He was carrying a large sack._

"I have the Rheiards right here. Everybody, grab a Wing Pack and the Rheiard will come out. Two to every Rheiard. Yuan has pinpointed Exire's current location. Just follow Kratos and Yuan and we'll be safely in Exire." _Raiden explained. _

_Then, Deadin ran up to Aaron._ "We got the whole Mizuho army stationed here to join us. Oh, and Lloyd, Merrick, Ellyria, and everybody from Lloyd's house joined as well. I even sought out Anna, Purrti, and Vanim's scents and brought them along with us." _he said. _

_Aaron scanned the crowd. Sure enough, he saw the Panthers' ears poking out. Aaron quickly turned around, and brought his Rheiard out. Soon, the entire army was taking off into the air. Within another fifteen, they were frozen, but Exire was within their sights, off in the horizon._

"Just a little longer!" _Yuan shouted. Everybody was too cold to respond. _

**RP #2 - Newtype06. Posted on 7-14-06**

Deadin accompanied Kratos on their Rheiard up to Exire. It was a grand old village, small, simple buildings linked by moss-laden walkways. It floated higher than any mountain, higher than any bird. Deadin looked below, spotting the New Ozzete region beneath him. The group alighted on Exire, and began slowly moving their personal belongings to the buildings there.

"It's so quiet…" Terra whispered, marveling in the complete silence. Only the occasional wind would answer her.

The group congregated to the largest platform, eager to figure out what to do next.

"First off," Lloyd started, standing up to face the crowd, "lets do a head count and try to see who we have here."

Slowly, each person stood, stated their name, and sat down. Deadin saw some familiar faces. The swordsman he bumped into in Iselia, named Merrick Lynch, was among the group that was at Lloyd's house. There was another Purrdi with Anna, and, to Deadin's surprise, a full blooded Ocean Elf. Upon seeing her, Deadin realized his own reluctance at saying his full name.

Draugdu is not a common Elvish surname. In fact, directly translated it means "Night Wolf". Even though the aptly named Vanim was an Ocean Elf, she would be well familiar with the almost universal elvish language. Deadin realized it was his turn to stand, and quickly did so.

"Deadin. Deadin Draugdu…" he said, not looking at Vanim, and quickly sat back down.

The rest of the group rattled off their names, from Ellyria Highwind all the way down to Kyoshi Deishu.

"Right," Lloyd said. "What does that leave us at?" He looked around at Kratos, who sat with his arms folded. He shrugged microscopically. "I thought you were counting…"

"Uh, right…" Lloyd said. "Well…math was never my strong point…"

"And what was?"

"Sh…shut up, dad." Lloyd whispered.

Aaron Sage raised his hand, and stood amongst the crowd.

"Well, Iselia has gone down a path we can't follow. They are going to destroy everything to get their hands on more powerful weapons. I just wish we knew more about these…Tarivians and Archangels."

A hand arose in the crowd. Everyone turned, Deadin stood up.

"Master Irving, Master Sage, I have fought in a few wars over my existence and I must tell you: If we are to win against both Iselia and Palmacosta, we will need more men and more powerful weapons."

"He's right," Kratos said, standing up. He held the attention of everyone in the crowd. "We will need more information about the whereabouts of these powerful "Archangels" Aaron speaks of…."

The old swordmaster continued his speech, "We will need to send people out to see what we can find. We will need to go to Meltokio, Mizuho, contact the Renegades, and see if we can get backing from the Lezareno Corporation."

Kratos began picking members of the group to head to the certain areas.

"Merrick and Ellyria, go to Altamira and find Regal Bryant. Tell him Lloyd needs his help, and to find us at Exire."

He scanned the crowd again.

"Kyoshi and Aaron, head towards New Mizuho. We will need the assistance of the famed Mizuho Intelligence Network. I'm sure Sheena will help us."

He looked again.

"Anna, Purrti, and Vanim should find Zelos Wilder and get him to take them into Meltokio. We will need the assistance of the King of Meltokio in this one."

Kratos turned to Yuan. "Yuan, see what you and your people can dig up. Take some people with you. Whoever you need."

"Fine," Yuan said, walking away into the crowd, pulling several people aside.

The crowd began to disperse, but Deadin found himself staying near Kratos. The Kharlan Hero had easily shown his prowess not only in single combat, but in the maneuvering and placement of an army. At least, an army in the making…

"That was impressive, Kratos," Deadin said, stepping up slowly to his old friend. "You seem to fit the role of General nicely."

"Humph…" Kratos grunted. He obviously didn't like the distinction.

"Like it or not, you are the only one here really qualified this. _'I've fought in a few wars'?_ Mine have been only border squabbles as a hired sword. This war will be something entirely different. A new Kharlan War, perhaps…"

Kratos shuddered. Actually shuddered. He hoped it wouldn't come down to that.

"These kids need someone to look up to. I can take some of it, but not all of it. They need a real leader, Kratos, and you're it."

"Fine," Kratos said. "But don't think you are getting off that easily. If I'm general of this so-called army, then you are my Captain."

Deadin grinned a wolfish smile. "Fine by me, sir."

**Deadin received the Title: Primus Pilus. The First of the File, you are the first on the field and the last off. Only the lives of your men matter to you! **

The two swordsmen laughed, and went their separate ways. Alone, Deadin tried to figure out what to do with his free time. He had not been selected for an intelligence mission. The Elf decided to see how his new troops were acclimating to their new homes. Along the way, he saw two men sparring with their swords. A remarkable thought hit Deadin.

A few minutes later, a soldier was passing by a building when a particular notice caught his eye. It was stuck to one of the buildings. It read:

"_Sword Training Sessions, Free of Charge. Head to the Northern Rheiard landing pad for details. See Deadin Draugdu."_

**RP #3 - Kevin1292. Posted on 7-19-06**

"Well, I guess we're partners. The name's Kyoshi Deishu."

"I'm Aaron Sage. So we have to go to New Mizuho and get Sheena. Shouldn't be too hard."

Aaron and Kyoshi walked over to the Rheiards and got on. "Now, I've never flown one of these so you may need to help me with this." Kyoshi said scanning the different parts of the Rheiard.

"You don't know how to fly a Rheiard?"

"No. I've never even ridden one."

"I guess I have to or we can't do our mission." Aaron spent a few minutes going over the controls. He didn't say anything else and took off toward New Mizuho. Kyoshi followed soon after.

"This is easy. I've already got the hang of it." Aaron said nothing. He kept going without a word, until they landed in New Mizuho.

**RP #4 - Genis Sage. Posted on 7-19-06**

Merrick had seen these rheiards fly overhead from the ground before, and now that he'd actually flown one, he felt complete. Now, having the freedom of actually using one on his own, he felt overjoyed... _'Though,'_ he thought to himself, _'It may be more fun to ride on the same one as Ellyria since we're going there together..._

"Let's get going!" He called out to her, gesturing to his rheiard. She took a completely seperate one all together. Merrick winced. Obviously, he wasn't a quitter, and he wasn't even sure if she was his type, but he was determined to see of they could sit on the same rheiard without killing each other. He wasn't a quitter, even when he knew a lost cause at first glance.

Exire was currently over Meltokio, meaning there was a bit of distance between there and Altamira. As soon as Exire was out of sight, he called to her, "My rheiard's broken! Look, it won't move!"

"Why is it still hovering?" she asked. Merrick paused. He hadn't thought of that. "I don't know, but lucky me it's still hovering. Hey, think I can get on yours?" he asked, as he pulled out the Wing Pack, "I'll just put it back in here and repair it later."

"Um, I think it probably still works." she told him, and lightly tapped the rheiard. This made Merrick accidentally put the Rheiard back in the wing pack while he was still on it!

"I should probably learn to give up whie I'm ahead... and alive." Merrick sighed as he fell to what should have been his death. Behind him, he could hear her rheiard chasing after him, but there was no time. He knew he had no choice. Holding his sword before him, with it's untold powers of randomness, he unleashed the mana charge and hoped for the best...

He felt a THUNK! as he screamed a raspy caw. He had turned himself into a crow and been crashed into. Ellyria screamed, and caught him out of the air. "Is that you?" she asked the bird.

"Caw!" he answered, feeling quite lame for not being able to answer. He then decided to nod in response instead.

"Was that your sword?"

"Caw, caw!" he replied, as he nodded once more.

"Are you hurt? One caw for yes, 2 for no, and 3 for just a little."

"Caw, caw, caw!" _'Okay, this is getting lame!'_ Merrick thought to himself, _'This woman is holding me and all I can do is caw... hmm, I should try this!'_ He hopped up onto her shoulder and bit her ear in the same way a really affectionate human might. With her "Ow!" he basically got swatted off.

Now at about 10 feet above ground level due to his fall, he turned back to a human... another thunk, and blackness as he passed out. He could vaguely hear Ellyria say "his rheiard does work after all..." at this, Merrick knew that it was better that he stay down... for now. Their mission could wait for a minute. He needed the nap anyways.

**RP #5 - AngelicAura. Posted on 7-19-06**

Aaron sighed. Didn't this guy remember? Aaron and Kyoshi had been friends before. It only lasted awhile, then Kyoshi simply disappeared from Aaron. Now Aaron remembered him, but apparantly Kyoshi did not. Aaron felt the waves of memories flowing over him...or was it just the wind from the Rheaird.

"Great, now I'm delusional and using metaphors," Aaron thought.

Pushing back the thought of their friendship, Aaron pushed forward to New Mizuho. Aaron knew there was something else he would need to do in New Mizuho. When the two reached New Mizuho, Aaron took off to Sheena's hut, Kyoshi following behind. He knocked at the entrance.

"Who is it?" Sheena asked.

"Aaron Sage!" Aaron responded.

Sheena appeared at the entrance.

"Come right in, Aaron! Oh, who's your friend?" she asked.

"This is Kyoshi. He's helping me. We kind of need a little favor of you..." he said.

Aaron explained the whole situation of Iselia's decision and the new army to fight against the opposing militaries. Sheena appeared intrigued.

"I'll see what I can do. By the way, you should go and see Genis...he misses you," she told, turning away.

Aaron turned to Kyoshi. "Go get some supplies. It can only help. Also, if you wouldn't mind, go to New Ozette and warn them of what's coming to them. Meet me here tomorrow morning and we will return to base."

Kyoshi nodded in respect, then looked bewildered. Aaron shook his head.

"It's to the West from here," he told.

"Heh...thanks," Kyoshi replied, walking off.

Aaron walked over to where the Sages had made a nice little second home. It was quite obvious, for they had adorned it with a sign in the front yard with their names on it. But, that wasn't the only thing that gave it away. It was also decorated with many magical symbols and drawings, something the two had recently discovered to be to their fancy. Aaron knocked at the door.

"Who is it?" Genis shouted from inside.

Ignoring the deja-vue feeling he got, he replied the same way as before, with his name. Genis popped open the door and tackled Aaron with a hug.

"Hey, little bro! Come in!" Genis said, walking him inside the door.

Presea worked quietly in the kitchen.

"Hey, Presea!" Aaron said.

Presea jolted, dropping many pots and pans which made a loud crashing noise. Aaron and Genis winced at the sound. Presea turned around a blushed, quickly picking everything up and dashing out of the room.

"I'm sure you know that we're going to married. We were going to have it sooner, but...we wanted to wait for you! I couldn't get married and not have my little brother around to see it!" Genis told.

"Oh...you didn't have to wait for me..." Aaron said.

"I felt I had to. Anyway, I heard about what's going on in Iselia. I just wanted to make sure you were safe."

"Well, I have to ask you. Would you and Raine gather up the old crew that's here for supper? I have something I need to ask everyone. Oh, and speaking of Raine...where in the world is she?"

"Oh, she's doing some research outside of the village. You know Raine," he said, "Anyway, I'll go get them for supper. Why don't you stay here and rest up, though. You look fatigued."

"Sure thing, Genis. I could use a little nap."

Genis ran out the front door. Aaron walked over to the couch and layed down It was quite comfortable, and had a warm sensation to it. It didn't take Aaron long to succumb to sleepiness.

**RP #6 - Newtype06. Posted on 7-20-06**

"Execute 1…2…3…crossover, 1…2…3… and finish!" Deadin said. His medley of recruits tried in vain to copy the three strikes Deadin had shown them, a few of whom actually walked away from the training. Nonetheless, Deadin was patient. He still had twenty stundents, including his first disciple, Terra.

"Lets try again," Deadin said, this time taking a place among the ranks. "Slowly, now. Find the current of your strike. Flow with it, not against it…" Deadin stepped in a few rows down Terra, between the one called Imyn and the one named Eno. Deadin readied his sword, clasping it in both hands and holding it just over his right knee. His legs were spaced evenly apart, with his right leg leading.

"Execute 1…" Deadin swept his left leg forward, mirroring his previous stance. Swinging the blade parallel to the ground, Deadin and his trainees cut a horizontal strike across the air.

"…2…" The move was repeated, this time swinging the right foot forward. Once again, a horizantal strike.

"…3…" This time, Deadin and the trainees tucked their sword hilts into their chests, skirted forward slightly, and then stabbed quickly towards their imaginary opponent's face.

"Crossover 1!" Deadin shouted. His left leg came over the right one, at the same time his blade coiled towards his left shoulder. Lashing out, Deadin completed the strike as his left foot came down.

"…2!..." Another step forward, another attack.

"…3!..." Again, an upward stab.

"…And finish!" All the trainees stabbed swiftly into the ground beneath them.

"Much better!" Deadin said, looking at his students proudly. "Now do it again!"

**RP #7 - Genis Sage. Posted on 7-21-06**

_"Any anestesiologist will tell you that there's ten stages of consciousness between unconsciousness and death."_ A doctor, Dragonfly

Merrick was adrift idly in one of those stages. He didn't even know it was possible to drift idly. All around, things came in and out of focus, stretching first widthwise, then lengthwise... just thinking about the depth sickened him in his dizziness, and he has no desire to check if things were paper thin or overly thick. He was in a dream forest, yet it sure wasn't a forest of daydreams. All around, signs of life... hostile life. Claw marks in the trees and large tracks in the soil... he knew for sure it wasn't a nice monster, whatever it was, once he saw what he thought was a sword sticking out of the foiliage.

-

Meanwhile, Ellyria had put her rheiard away and was keeping an eye on his unconscious body. After all, he was vulnerable, and if she left him there, well, she didn't want to be responsible for an animal finishing him off or something. She noticed that his sword was within arm's reach of him... and he was slowly reaching out for it. "Um, that's not good..." She moved in to take it away but too late, he clasped his hand around it...

-

The Merrick in the dream, his consciousness, was unarmed, just noticing that his sword was gone seconds before. Cursing that he didn't take the sword from the bushes he passed what felt like hours ago in this distorted world, he kept moving, eager to leave this place.

His walk became a jog, his jog became a run, his run a sprint and his sprint a headlong dash into a tree. "Ow..." He pulled himself up. "At times like this I always sing to cheer myself up." he said to no one in particular, before starting up a song. _"I am just a man who knows how to sing, but after hitting my head can I remember anything? I can count up to ten and tie up my shoes, so I guess that's enough to drink up some booze!"_ After realizing that there was no bar nearby, he shrugged and kept walking.

-

Ellyria had seen the sword's powers of untold... uncontrollable randomness (for lack of a better way of phrasing it) before, and was now terrified that something might happen. She didn't want to cut herself on the sword, yet Merrick had the only non-sharp part. She briefly considered just leaving him there, but she decided otherwise. With the luck she'd seen this guy have, his sword would turn him into a juicy steak right as some wolves appeared. She immediately went back to semi-panicing.

-

From out of a shadow arose another shadow. "What were those two doing?" Merrick demanded. From out of that shadow emerged a giant ted thing with big teeth. "Oh crap, I just had to irritate the thing... smart move on my part. I really should learn to quit while I'm ahead... and alive." Merrick got into his unarmed combat stance, which makes most people laugh so hard he can win because their guards are dropped. His knees bent and feet duck footed, as well as handing his wrists turned to that his right hand's fingers faced it, not his knuckles. "Okay Ugly, bring it on!"

-

Ellyria noticed somthing. Merrick's arm had started twitching. "Sword hand twitching... not good... Sorry, I'm going to have to..." She lifted her foot, ready to crush his hand if need be.

-

"YEARGH!" Merrick shouted as he lunged and let loose with his strongest punch...

-

STOMP!

-

Out of nowhere, Merrick's hand collided with a wall that mysteriously appeared and dissapeared just as fast. "Shhh... AH!" he gasped as he clutched his hand, and toppled over sideways from the pain. The red beast was moving in closer, and Merrick was sure he was a goner...

Another blurr, which hurt his eyes since everything else was so blurry. This blur was a red blur, a fiery streak followed it, and he saw that he wasn't alone. In fact, it looked to him like he was being rescued. This figure wasn't blurry, and he recognized it -her- quickly.

"Terra?" he asked in bewilderment, "When did you get so good?" he asked her. She simply smiled and reached out her hand to help him up. "Thanks, I thought I was a goner back there!"

"No way, it cheated! I saw the wall, and that made no sense!" Terra told him, almost laughing. "If it was a fair fight you'd have won easy! Don't feel bad, Merrick!"

He paused. _'Did I ever even give her my name, or did she pick it up when that man was giving the instructions?'_ Merrick simply shrugged. "Besides, I was unarmed." he told her.

"Don't you know any magic?" she asked him. Merrick stopped in his steps, and she turned around to see what was wrong.

"My magic..." Merrick began, "I swore off my magic years ago."

"Why?" Merrick looked down as she asked this. "Isn't it a nice gift, that not everyone has?"

Merrick paused, as a lone tear escaped his eye. "Give a thief a clean knife, he's still a thief. Give an assasin a shiny dart, he's still an assasin... Give a murderer a golden blade..." he stopped himself, not willing to admit that his fooling around with magic had once claimed a friend's life, "he's still a murderer..." He slumped to the floor in despair, not from having told her, but from having to relive that awful memory. Terra didn't say anything at first, she just sat down beside him and said one quick phrase.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"S... sure..." Merrick hated reliivng his memories, but was secretly glad to be able to share them with her. For some reason, everything felt right. _'Besides.'_ he thought, looking around at how everything was still all distorted, _'This is all so weird I'm sure she'll forget in the midst of this... weird forest!'_ He sighted. "It's a long story though, are you sure we have the time?"

"Yeah, I already killed all the other monsters, we have all the time in the world..."

-

By this point, Ellyria was getting impatient. "Wake up already!" She sighed. "Time's not standing still here..."

-

"I awoke in a forest, charred in the remains of a fire, no memory, burnt nearly to death. I had the will to live despite the pain, so I got up and walked... and walked some more, and I was walking for what felt like forever in my pain, until I found a lake. My mouth was dry and my taste buds were scorched, and the water was nice and cool. I jumped right in and drank up all I could. Then... I met _them._ The ones who lied to be and betrayed me, the first four I ever killed, but in self defence."

"No memory?" Terra asked, "You couldn't remember anything?"

"Nope. I made up the name merrick as an alias of sorts, it's ironic that it was actually my real name all along! Anyways, those four were part of a cult of sorts. They didn't worship Martel or anything, but some other made up god that they dreamt up to suit their needs. In my state, I was looking for spiritual answers, so when they took me in, I agreed to join them. They healed my burns with this special ointment which prevented most of the scarring, and over time, the scars I did get scraped off. Anyways, moving on..."

"You weren't kidding, this IS a long story. This could take awhile..."

-

"You're sure taking awhile to wake up..." Ellyria groaned.

-

"Yeah, it is long, isn't it? Anyways, when their "God" didn't talk to me that way it supposedly talked to them, I decided to leave. They turned on me, so I grabbed the sword on the altar and killed them. I still use it, since it's so good at chopping stuff. Well anyways, I became a bard since I love to sing, and over time, a mercenary of sorts. I discovered magic while keeping the night watch one day. I lit the fire with magic, put it out with magic, and re-lit it. It was fun, shooting fireballs in the middle of the night. Anyways, and wow I say that word a lot, after awhile I finally made a friend, and agreed to help him hund down this alchemist who used an exploding flask to burn down his home. That night I kept watch- we took turns every second night- and I put out the fire as always, but as I shot the fireball, a strong wind picked up and I missed. In my panic, I couldn't put it out. He burned to death in his sleep..."

Terra didn't say anything. Merrick sighed.

"I guess I should finish the story, it's not done yet. I hunted the alchemist down regardless, and when I did, my memory came back. He... the alchemist, was my sister's lover, and it was the two of them that conspired to kill me and that tied me up and threw me in the forest to die, setting it ablaze. The ropes burnt off in the fire." Merrick almost laughed. "I normally don't tell anyone all this, but for some reason, it's different with you. I feel better, not worse. Thanks."

Suddenly all went dark, and he couldn't even see Terra anymore.

-

"Five more minutes..." Merrick grumbled, face down in the dirt. Ellyria wasn't sure what to make of all this, so se just told him to feel free. "Thanks... Terra." Ellyria glared at him.

"If I actually liked the guy I would hurt him right now... but this'll do. WAKE UP!"

Merrick wasn't thrilled at the wake up call, but knew he had a mission to do. He sighed. _'I guess it was all a dream, I never told her after all. She still doesn't know anything about me. I'll have to tell her for real one day... it's weird, it's almost like...'_ Then, from the corner of his mind, came a voice that said _'Someone's got a crush!'_

"Do not." Merrick said out loud, as Ellyria gave him a weird look.

"I didn't say anything..."

As he mounted his rheiard, Merrick noticed that the small fire Ellyria had lit to keep animals away was still burning. "Aqua Edge!" He smiled, "Much better... I don't feel the need to neglect my magic any longer... what's come over me?"

**RP #8 - Sekhmet. Posted on 7-21-06**

Both Vanim and Purrti made Anna join Deadin's practice session, she out did several of his students and didn't tire as fast but she seemed bored. After the lesson was complete they left the area. Anna leaped up to tree near one house and began practicing with some challenges.

Vanim: Ok... she like him and he her... what is the problem?

Purrti: She would rather he made the first move. I'm guessing So where are we going?

Vanim: Not really sure but someone said we should take a ship.

Purrti: Great...

Several hours later, Vanim stood on the pier and carefully examed the human made vessel, the weather worn ship. She then looked down at the water to her people who would be traveling with them to ensure their safety. The sailors had made comments about having females on board then when they saw her they backed down as if they were in awe. Those below the water did not trust the human made vessel but gave approval once inspecting it thoughly.  
Vanim looked over at Anna who was sitting on the edge of the pier speaking with the young merwarrior that had befriend her earlier, named Tia. Anna showed no signs of fear toward the water. Purrti on the other hand had been a handful until she had cast a sleep spell to get her below deck.  
Vanim would have preferred to travel below the water but she needed to be with her pupil to train her in the elven ways of magic. Though she thought it strange that the cursed elf, Deadin would have interest in the halfling.  
Several minutes later, they were out to sea, Purrti below deck and Anna trying to learn from the crew members the how and what for the the ship. Vanim thought she should be exhausted by this time and want to sleep after everything that Anna had done. Turning to look at the sky, she watched as several rheiard flew out and headed in different directions.  
Several hours later, Anna was below deck resting as Purrti had come just up to the deck looking very seasick and pissed off. Vanim had gone to the bow of the ship into the rigging, the closet thing to the water and rested there. Vanim was glad that Anna had a thirst for knowledge.  
Suddenly a dolphen shot out of the water beside the ship, it was yelling about some creature that was huge and was heading toward the ship. Vanim looked down at the merwarriors below as they raced off to discover the problem. The three quickly had gathered from their other locations ready for anything as the water around the ship began to bubble violently.

**RP #9 - Sekhmet. Posted on 7-23-06**

Below the surface of the curning water, a large pale squid like creature fought the many merwarriors that were traveling with the ship. As each tennicale tried to shoot out toward the ship it was cut off by them.  
As minutes pass, Vanim patiently waits having faith in the warriors below the water as the others waited nerviously.  
The sailor in the crow's nest continued to do his job in looking for the land as the ship rocks violently in the bubbling water as it moves forward.  
As the movement of the ship become rougher, Purrti unable to control it any longer races to the edge of the deck to the railing of the ship and let loose just as a tennicale shots out of the water, breaking the surface to be hit by the vomit projectile. At the moment of impact the arm remained motionless as what happened slowly registered in the mind of the squid. The the arm shivered and quickly vanished below the surface then disappeared completely as the waters calmed down around the them.

Purrti - (between heaves) I would find that amusing if I wasn't feeling this way.

Sailor - I thought cats had good balance?

Anna: laughing Usually we are...

**RP #9 - Sekhmet. Posted on 7-24-06**

After several days of traveling by sea Purrti was ready to kill something or someone when they made landfall near a small village near the shore, Purrti leaped to shore not waiting for the ship even to weigh anchor, as she landed on shore she took off to the treeline of the mountian that rose in the distance, though not that far away. Anna and Vanim stared as the black form vanished.

Anna: Think we should have taken a rheiard instead

Vanim: I agree though I enjoyed it. shrugs She will be back turns to the ramp that entered the village. I'll see what information I can find, I not sure if they are accepting.

Anna: I'll take my chances with you.

Both Vanim and Anna enter the village to find someone that might know where Zelos was located and even how to get there. After getting the information Vanim decided to stay the night at the inn while waiting for Purrti to return from her hunt. The next day, Purrti returned with some meat for the rest of the travel. Vanim diet had be mainly seafood but she had tried the humans' food and enjoyed it. After gathering some supplies they headed in northwest to the large town by foot.  
After the third or fourth battle with creatures and animals, Anna remembered that they did have rheiards that were tucked away. Several minutes later, after Purrti quit screaming about having to take a ship across the sea, they arrived on the outskirts of the town where Zelos was staying.  
Vanim asked a female resident where he was, she responded as if Vanim was insane for not knowing but directed to the "small" house where he was. Upon finding the house, they worked their way through the throngs of adoring women wanting to catch a glimse of the red headed casanova.  
At the front gate, Vanim spoke with the female guard, who stared at Vanim and her companions, then sent for someone to escort them in after discovering they were here on the behalf of Llyod and Aaron.  
As the arrogent redded casanova elegantly made his way down the flight of steps, Purrti made a comment about how effeminate he looked, Anna snickered argring in feline. Zelos bowed before Vanim with respect.

Zelos: What brings a rightous babe like your beautiful selves here?

Purrti: Look human, we don't have time for your antics. We were sent to find you to get your help... Vanim touches Purrti arm, who growls but backs off

Vanim: Llyod and Aaron sent us here to ask for your aid.

Zelos: glances at Purrti Whoa, what is with her 'tude?

Anna: Other then she doesn't like humans? You really don't want to know...

Vanim: I'll explain what is going on

Vanim goes into the summerized version of what is going on, after several minutes, Zelos nods in understanding, looking at the Purrdi trying to size her up and realized she would rip him a new one without a thought. Turning to Anna, he could tell she was softer and seemed more human then Purrti though she was almost unreadible, he had to get to know her and maybe win her over. Moments later, Zelos led them to a private chamber so they could talk with more privaticy. Purrti merely went over to one of the sofa and promptly went to sleep to show her boredom. After talking for what seemed forever, Zelos and Vanim came to an agreement about his assistance, then he suggested that they spend the night before they all headed out, so he could get things in order.

**RP #10 - Sekhmet. Posted on 7-30-06**

Zelos while preparing to leave decided his target to win over and fawn over him, though that word with a Purrdi made him smile. Anna and Vanim would be fun. He wouldn't dare with Purrti, that big cat, shakes his head. Zelos continued to think of ways to get Anna maybe she could loose the fur.


	17. Family

**RP #11 - Sekhmet. Posted on 8-8-06**

As Zelos and the others traveled to their destination, they were watched at a distance as it plotted it's next move. Anna and Zelos discussed everything from him being a chosen at one time to Anna's background to Vanim's strange appearance, Purrti merely listened without comment.  
As they arrived at their destination, they were not greeted by the Meltokio people but by chaos of about 20 or so alien like creatures methodically trashing things and killing people in their search for something. As their crafts landed both large felines let out a war cry as they leap upon the creatures nearest to them. Vanim and Zelos shook their heads for a moment to stop the ringing in their ears then joined the large panthers in the defense of the Kingdom. As the aliens fell, Anna noticed a shadowy figure move into town, she yelled something in elven, Vanim turned to notice the movement and took off toward town with several warriors that had joined them in the battle.  
Zelos marveled at the prowess of large panthers, he respected them as they moved with grace even in battle, meanwhile Vanim caught up with the individual as he emerged from the shadows, her eyes widened with realization that this was an archangel…

Angel: So High Priestess, you found me. What do you think you can do against me?

**RP #12 - White Rose. Posted on 8-11-06**

Exire... the abandoned town of the half-elves... The place where this motly group of people would make base for the time being. Soon, the others would arrive. Until that time came, both Kratos and Deadin were up to their necks, trying to transform this lackluster bunch into something at least remotely fearful to these monsters called Tarivians... How ever long it would take...

Deadin had given Terra, the young Irving-Aurion, and now... his student of the sword, a small break from the training that she the others were now enduring, and the girl took full advantage of it. Sitting right on the edge of a cliff on the upper part of the odd floating town in the sky, Terra looked down in awe at the world below her. The view was spectacular.

"Wow..." She said, not believing she was even witnessing this grand movie. A spark of curiosity lit up in her eyes and she stood up. She leaned her body slightly foward... "It's got to be so cool to fly..." The girl said again with a slight whisper as spread her arms wide and looked around at the land. Everything looked like small dots. The forest looked like a giant, patchy clover field that stretched for eons, and the water seemed to match the darkened sky all around them. Animals and people weren't visible at all, save for the birds that flew below Exire. The winged rulers of the sky just appeared to be small black and white crosses, growing smaller and bigger with each flap of their wings and each updraft and downdraft that glided them along their never ending journey. And the only hint of life underwater were the reflections given off from the sun as its light hit the skin of the fish and the other sea dwelling mammals that called the ocean their home. They merely appeared as specks of white light... sometimes blinding to the eye, causing Terra to turn her head a few times as she looked down at the water.

"It's not fair..." Terra said with a small grumble under her breath. "Dad can fly, Mom can fly, Grandpa can fly..." She crossed her arms. "Hell... Even uncle Zelos, and Yuan can fly!" She closed her eyes. "...I wish," she sighed with some anger. "I just wish I could... Just once..." She sighs again... "I yern to feel the wind flow across my body... whipping through my hair..."

Suddenly, a cold and violent gust of wind breezes over Exire, causing all on it to shield their faces from the chilled air. Under veiled faces... a loss of balance... and a slight gasp are heard... "Sh... This is not what I had in mind!" A voice shouted in terror as she loses her footing and falls over the edge of Exire. Another scream... this time, much louder and more panicked... "AAAAHHHHH!"

Immediately recognizing the voice, Lloyd uncovers his face and turns in the direction of where Terra is--or rather... where she was, just a mere moment ago. His eyes widen to the point where they could fall out of his sockets, and he gasps. "TERRA!" He shouts with fear, as he quickly speeds towards the cliff of Exire, followed immediately by Kratos and Colette. Then soon after, like a blur out of nowhere, the Ymirian Were-wolf named Deadin appears right behind his ancient friend.

Getting to the edge of the cliff, both Lloyd and Kratos jump right off of it, to the panic of the rest of the soldiers. Colette brings out her wings and almost manages to jump the cliff with her husband and Kratos, but Deadin lays a hand on her shoulder and tightens his grip, stopping the frantic woman who was trembling with great fear. "Don't worry... they'll get her." He says firmly looking straight into tear filled eyes and with a sincere nod. Colette clinches one of her hands forming a tight fist, and brings her other hand up to her mouth. Nervously, she bites down on one of her finger nails... "Hurry Lloyd!" She yells.

Falling through the air with his father, both men touch their exspheres. An icy colored blue glow envelopes their bodies, and is soon followed by a cascading shower of magical feathers that leave the all too familiar trail as they appear and evaporate in the air. Their wings soon sprout from behind their backs, to the shock of most of their onlookers... The two then precede to tuck in their wings, so as to gain speed and decend faster towards the young teenager. "Terra, hang on!" Lloyd shouts to his daughter who is gazing down at the incoming land below her. Her gaze was frozen, and whatever sweat and tears her body was giving out, were being quickly dried by the fierce, stinging winds that the laws of gravity were forcibly throwing in her face, and across her body.

Terra's eyes widened as the land became ever closer. Tears were flowing from her eyes, but of course, were dried within mere seconds after leaving her tear ducts.

_'No... this can't be!_' Terra thought with horror. "Daddy!" She screamed with agony, and to the top of her lungs. She tried to turn her head and her body. To gaze up at Exire. A place that was now a receding shadow in the sky. She tried to gaze at the two she heard above her... desperately trying to reach for her. Tears welling up in the eyes of her father. Her grandfather's body was trembling... But her eyes remained locked straight ahead. Frozen with solid, unbreakable fear. Shaking and bulging out of her head. Her body was trembling uncontrollably, and her heart was racing. Beating faster and faster with each passing second. ...So few times had she felt so helpless... so afraid... Her father and mother were always there for her. Noishe and the others were always protective of her ever since she could remember. And her grandfather, the ancient hero had seemingly returned from the brink of death, and had saved her and everyone from certain doom...

Would they really not save her this time?

_...'I'm so pathetic..._' Terra thought with shame. _'I'm sorry dad. I'm sorry I wasn't good enough to help you at work... to become the blacksmith you always wanted me to be...'_ Terra paused in a brief thought as a new stream of tears over took her... drying the instant they left her eyes. _'And Deadin...'_ She paused again, shutting her eyes. _'I'll never be strong enough to be like you or Kratos... Why does anyone even bother with me?'_ She opened her eyes back up to the realities outside of her own head... and screamed again. _'No...'_ She thought again with panic...

...The land was becoming awfully close... only several thousand feet until a very tragic end...

"No! Terra!" Colette shouted with absolute horror as she watched her daughter fall even farther from their grasp... Kratos could hear it due to the fact that he was in full angelic form, but as usual, it was out of Lloyd's range, since well... he wasn't really given any angelic abilities like his father.

The older swordsman's eyes shifted to Exire, then quickly back to Lloyd. "Put everything you have into it Lloyd! Now!" He shouts with determination, getting the point across immediately. Lloyd nods, and the two conjure up their hidden energy to allow for an even bigger burst of speed... They were gaining... faster and faster...

...And so was the land... only a few thousand feet now, and falling rapidly with each second.

The two were within feet of the teenager now... Lloyd attempted several times to grab her boot with his hand, but ultimately failed with each flawed swipe. Desperately he tried, over and over... grabbing nothing but the chilled, stinging air in his fingers. He flapped his wings frantically, inching closer to her heels.

Kratos was trying to approach from the side in an attempt to grab her whole body... He could just barely make out the face of his younger kin... his only granddaughter. It was frozen like ice... but he could feel her heat underneath of the cold air... He could read the mana that swelled around her. It had dipped considerably... it was like she had given up... Her body was trembling... scared so badly into a state of shock, he thought Terra was going to pass out, or have heart attack... And at such a rapidly decreasing altitude, either might certainly kill her. His eyes widened and he looked at Lloyd who was just a few inches away from her legs now. He grabbed once again... this time, managing to get ahold of the sole of her boot. And for a moment... her decent slowed...

Terra's eyes snapped out of her trance... had her life finally ended? Where was the white light at the end of the tunnel? Where were the angels to take her away?

...That's when reality hit her once again. She was still in the air... and one of her legs felt colder for some reason...

"NOOO! Dammit!" She heard her father shout with confusion. She turned her head to look at him... and he looked back at her. His eyes frozen, much like hers were. He was stopped and his hand was holding something black and gold... She gasped and her eyes widened. She looked at her foot. Her boot was missing. ...It was resting in his hand, being squeezed so tightly, had it been a balloon, it would've popped long ago...

The girl screamed again, realizing her nightmare was far from over. The land was approaching... just a thousand feet...

Kratos looked back at Lloyd, who had stopped his pursuit. He shook his head and immediately sprang into action. Wrestling the sheeth loose from his belt, he threw out his sword for the time being, and held the leather object out towards Terra. He wasn't quite close enough to reach her, so this would have to do.

"Terra! Listen to me!" Kratos shouted, suprising the teen. She immediately turned her head in his direction. He was so close... yet, he still couldn't get to her. "Grab this! Now! I'll pull you in!" He shouted all at once--his eyes shifting back and fourth between the land and her. Just moments left to spare. He flapped his wings and tried to inch even closer. He smiled at the frightened girl. A true genuine smile that hadn't appeared on his face in a long time. For a moment, he was taken aback by this simple gesture... and the warmth that he suddenly felt in his heart.

She looked so much Anna. And the resemblance to Lloyd and Colette... and even to himself, was astouding. He wouldn't lose her. He wouldn't lose any of his loved ones ever again. Not while he could still fight, and had life in his body.

...Was his return merely a fluke? Or was because of his family? Whatever the case, his heart had grown when he heard Terra fall... the agonizing scream... the human inside her that felt pain and fear... that felt love and hate. Just like he did... when he too, was still a mere human. Feelings that had only resurfaced when he lost his Anna to his own blood stained, and sin filled hands. And then when he lost his Lloyd. And it was all because of Cruxis... the plague that had taken complete control of the swordsman and bent him to their will. But now his former life, the organization called Cruxis was gone, and Kratos had no more excuses to run. He would not feel this way for Terra. He refused. He flapped harder, and inched even closer. He then did the one thing that took him by suprise... He asked one of his most forbidden questions...

"Do you trust me?"

That did it... he had opened the door to his own heart in that one inconspicuous moment. The two family members locked eyes and Terra nodded. "I do..."

The small beating vessel that layed dormant and stoic for so long in Kratos' chest blew up to the size of a mountain... He moved even closer to her, and she reached for the hilt, swimming in an invicible ocean, and swiping at it several times. Her fingers clawing... his eyes moving frantically back and fourth between the land and her.

"I got it!" She said with excitement as her hand finally gripped the leather sheeth. Kratos immediately pulled on the sheeth, and wrapped himself around the girl, holding her tightly. He stopped their descent without a second to spare and looked around, surveying the land below them. He could make out the tops of the the highest trees along the tops of the mountains... They were that close to death... He sighed with relief, and Lloyd's face grew 20 years younger as he witnessed the catch.

Terra looked up at Kratos. New, fresh tears were flowing like crazy... "You saved me..." She said, burying her head in his chest. His eyes narrowed with a slight feeling of akwardness. It was rare that he was ever hugged... much less cried on. But he smiled at her again and rubbed her back to comfort her. "You saved me, Terra..." She wiped her eyes on his uniform and looked up at him again. "I... I was... I didn't mean..." His smile never faded. "It's okay... You're safe now. That's all that matters..." Terra smiled and began to drift... "I love you grandpa..." She said as she fainted in his arms...

Kratos was shocked at those words. Shocked to the point he almost lost his grip on Terra. It held firm though, and he brushed the back of her head. Nobody besides Anna had ever said that to him. Noone had ever seen this side him, besides Anna... His hidden, gentle side... His mouth moved and he fumbled and studdered for the words. They were hard to say...

"I... I..." He paused and sighed, hesitating... questioning whether he would go on. His head told him not to get involved, but his heart... his new heart told him to let go of his past... He could hear Anna's voice echoing through his ears, and in the air. She was telling him the same thing...

The latter outweighed the first option, and Kratos chose his heart...

"I love you... Terra." He said with a whisper to her ear. The girl's body relaxed in his arms and she even seemed to form a small smile... His barrier was shattered once again... The old swordsman laughed... and almost seemed to cry... He shut his eyes and sighed. Looking back at her once more, he turned his attention above towards Lloyd, whom sat in the air, completely speechless... The eyes of the ancient hero grew angered and Lloyd turned away in shame. He'd never hear the end of it now...

Slowly coming up to his side, Kratos turned his head to the young man. "I have her. Let's go. ...Slowly." He said to his son, with a ring of frustration. Lloyd turned his face to his father, and met a chilling stare. "Dad... I... I'm..." He stuttered, not even being able to finish before Kratos cut him off. "You froze. That's all there is to it." He flew past Lloyd who's eyes were welling up. "Apologize to Colette and Terra. Not to me." Lloyd lowered his head once more in shame... "...Yeah..." he muttered under his breath. He followed his dad at a casual pace up to Exire.

Cheers and shouts of joy met their ears as the two finally landed atop Exire once again. Kratos layed Terra down on the ground where she was instantly swept up by Colette who had her buried in her arms. Her tears quickly soaking the teen's clothes...

Kratos sighed and smacked Lloyd across the back of the head. "Don't you ever freeze like that again. So help me Lloyd... that will be the death of you, or anyone you love!" He shouted to his son.

Lloyd couldn't stop staring at Terra... He froze... He almost lost her. If it hadn't been for Kratos... then...

Kratos smacked him again, and with more force. "Do you understand me!" The swordsman shouted again, with a furious voice. One that he hadn't used for quite some time. Lloyd nodded and answered quickly with a dull yes. They both sighed and turned to see that Terra was waking up... Colette's tears turned to joy as she hugged her daughter, squeezing the life out of her. Terra choked and gagged under her mother's strength and Colette loosened her grip with a chuckle. The ordeal was over... relieved that Terra was fine, most of the soldiers left the scene, leaving the four family members and Deadin alone.

"That was quick thinking Kratos. I'm impressed." Deadin said, patting Kratos on the back. The elf had witnessed everything, thanks to his enhanced vision. He looked at Lloyd and sighed. "It's alright Lloyd. She's safe." Lloyd looked back at the elf. "Yeah... but I... I... " His brow furled with anger and his teeth clinched together. The tears were rolling down his face... "...Dammit..." He said, disgusted with himself. Yet another weakness of the human soul was revealed from the stack of cards...

Fear...

Terra rose to her feet, a little shaky, but otherwise okay. She looked at her father with a mixed expression... Deadin glanced at her. "Go hug your father. He tried. To be human is to make mistakes Terra. Mistakes are unavoidable, but are also learned from. Do not forget that." He closed his eyes. "And do not forget who your family is. Never let them go. Ever." Deadin pat his friend on the back once more, and made his way to Lloyd. Patting him on his shoulder and nodding, he walked away and went back to his training area.

The Irvings and the Aurion stood around each other. Nobody knew what to say at that point. Not even Colette...

Kratos bit his lip several times trying to find the words to speak... he was never good at initiating conversation...

Terra kept looking at her father... remembering Deadin's words, she walked up to him.

The man had his back turned and was silently crying to himself... Terra wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, snapping Lloyd out of his heavy state of mind... he quickly turned around and hugged her back. "Martel... Terra, I'm so sorry..." He said, crying on the top of her head. Colette soon joined in to comfort her husband...

Kratos looked on at his family... HIS family... something he never had... a feeling that he had hardly experienced... And a rush of emotions that threatened to overtake him... He slowly walked up to the threesome who were locked in an inseperable bond... Stopping short of the backs of Lloyd and Terra, he shuffled his feet along the ground and scratched the back of his head... This was REALLY awkward for him... He reached out his hand towards Lloyd's shoulder. Hesitating several times and recoiling it... the angel finally placed his shaky, gloved hand on his son's shoulder. Lloyd tensed, expecting another smack to the head... and why not? He deserved it...

But this time, the grip was gentle and caring. Soothing even... the ancient hero cleared his throat, and began to speak...

"Will you accept one more into this... uh... bond?"

The three unburied their heads from one another and looked at Kratos with complete suprise. Lloyd mostly. A smile spread across his face. "Dad..." Colette waved her fists up and down and hopped on one foot. "Oh Kratos! Of course!" Terra simply smiled and hugged her grandpa. A hug for which he returned. Lloyd and Colette moved in and soon the family had themselves buried in one another...

Deadin looked on from his spot. A grin overtook him and he placed his hands behind his head. "You needed that Kratos." He chuckled. You old stick in the mud." he added for good humor. He was soon in a small fit of laughter, remembering times past with his good friend.

As the day started to wind down, the Irvings and the Aurion sat on the grass, looking out at the sun that was just beginning to set. Colette's back was to Lloyd's chest and his hands were wrapped around her waist. Terra sat next to them on their right side with her knees up to her chest and her hands wrapped around them. And Kratos was next to her, indian styled. A long silence followed... Terra looked at her parents, then at Kratos. "Do you think that you guys could take me flying sometime?" She asked, finally breaking the silence between them. Kratos eyed her, a bit suprised. "Aren't you just a little shaken up from earlier?" She smiled at him. "I was... but I know you guys will always be there for me. ...And I'm not scared. Not of the sky, and not of these Tarivians... Lloyd rubbed his daughter's back. "Okay then. It's a promise." Terra's eyes lit up. "REALLY!" She shouted. They nod in unison, and Terra a smile spreads across the teen's face. She throws a happy fist in the air. "AWSOME!" Lloyd and Colette laughed. Kratos' eyes narrowed, recalling Terra's last word in her previous comment.

"Tarivians..." He said to himself with a low whisper, and balled his fists tightly. 'Because of them, war infects this new world that I now call home...' He thinks to himself as he looks back out at the sky. _'They will not lay waste to it. Not while I'm alive...'_

**RP #13 - Genis Sage. Posted on 8-14-06**

Merrick had fallen behind, so Ellyria landed at the gate to Altamira. She started to read the plaque at the base of a large stone archway, about fifty feet high, thirty feet wide, and decorated with ornate gold and silver patterns. "This archway symbolises the harmy of the two once seperate worlds before the fall of Cruxis. No matter how grand this arch may be, it cannot stand without the aid of the foundations buried beneath the earth. Much the same today, a man or woman is only as great as their friends. This archway was built by Regal Bryant, President of Lezareno Company, to show the meaning of peace and friendship..."

"WHEEEEE!"

Panicking, Ellyria looked up and saw Merrick flying his Rheiard, standing up without hands, heading right for the gate! His eyes were closed as he fixed his hair, enjoying the wind. Ellyria closed her eyes and said "ouch!" right as a scream was heard from overhead as Merrick's head collided with the archway. It was a long drop, and during his fall, Merrick was freaking out.

"Terra's family can fly, maybe I can too? They touch these things and grow wings! I have to try!" Merrick touched his exsphere. There was a small flash, but nothing changed. Suddenly, Merrick remembered what Lloyd said to Kratos when he was eavesdropping on him. P._"The color of his exsphere, it's just like mom's..."_

"Damnit, his mom must have had a defective one, and it looks like I do too!" Merrick cursed as he continued to fall. "Help!" he called to anyone in particular.

Down below, Ellyria had an idea. It was risky but worth a try...

"AAAAAHH!"

Suddenly, Merrick seemed to dissapear, as Ellyria held her Wing Pack. She let him out, but he seemed badly hurt.

"Next time you stuff me in there, take out the Rheiard!"

"... Oops."

**RP #14 - Sekhmet. Posted on 8-16-06**

As the high priestess of the goddess of the ocean and the ArchAngel of Lighting exchanged bouts of power as they lashed at each other, the skies darkened as the clouds gathered as a storm of great magnatude brews over the land as the people dove for cover as the lighting flashed and crashed upon the earth and the thunder roared in the atmosphere. Purrti watched as the Tarivians were struck down without so much as a blink of an eye as they shot up in flames, fried beyond recogniton.(sp)  
As they fought, Zelos nerviously watched from a shelterd area as he wondered what could tilt the balance either way, his head turned to see a large feline figure flip and slide to safety then move in what seemed to be rapid jerky movement caused by the flashing of the lighting in the sky. As the figure became closer Zelos recognized it was Anna as she move to huddle beside Zelos panting from the rush and she was soaked to bone. Her eyes glowed earily in the darkness.

Zelos: Where is Purrti?

Anna: She is over there... as she points to a pile of rubble but she is fine... in fact much drier then I am. her eyes turned to look at Zelos So what do we do now?

Zelos: with a smirk Besides hide? shrugs I'm not really sure unless something can stop those two fighting... they aren't doing a bit of harm to each other...

Anna: nods true. thinks a bit Maybe elven magic?

Zelos just shrugs as Anna looks to where Vanim stands with the staff of the goddess, she glowed with powere as her goddess filled her, Anna pursed her lips trying to think of a plan.

**RP #15 - Sekhmet. Posted on 8-18-06**

Suddenly as everything started it ended as the archangel vanished, Anna moved swiftly to look around to see if she could find the angel anywhere but he was no-where to be seen or heard. Purrti's ears rose just above the rubble where she was hiding, then fully rose to take a look around. Vanim moved without touching the ground as the goddess within her searched for signs of the angel before releasing her host.  
Zelos was in awe over Vanim's power, he watched as the glow around her subsided and she lowered to the ground, stood there for a moment to regain her composer then began going about alone with Purrti to go check on the residence of the town.  
Anna was glad she had time with Vanim while they had travelled on the ship to learn the elven magic, though she had much to learn. Zelos and Purrti along with several people searched through rubble, helping as they could as Anna and Vanim healed who they could.  
After several hours, the four went to speak with the King. He had them stay in the guest rooms for the night though at first he was unsure of the large felines, but found them interesting to say the least. The next morning, Zelos rose early to speak with the king about the problems that have arisen and the request of assistance. Meanwhile, Purrti was briefing the captian of the guard about the fighting techiques of how to defeat the new enemy and who she knew of the weaknesses. Anna slipped away unnoticed into the town to explore alone while Vanim slept soundly in the "waterbed" that was made just for her, she was rudely awakened by Anna's scream of terror. As the three raced out of the palace followed by a few soldiers, they were just in time to see Anna vanish with the ArchAngel of Lighting. Purrti roared in anger but was unable to help her pupil. Vanim stared in disbelief unable to do anything as Zelos opened his wings to go after the angel, he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning he looked at Vanim.

Vanim - There is nothing we can do for now. But we will find and rescue her.

Purrti nods and lets out a sorrow filled roar. The king from the balcony watches as the three return to the palace.

**RP #16 - AngelicAura. Posted on 8-20-06**

_Later in the evening, Sheena put together a large dinner party for all of the members of the old party that regenerated the world. Aaron, of course, was invited as well. When everyone was seated and had been served food, Sheena led the group in a prayer and then the eating commenced. Forks clattered, people spoke to one another, food was being piled on plates, and Raine even put Aaron to sleep with a rant on how the "magnificent china" was made. Aaron was awoken, of course, with a large red handprint across his face. Sheena laughed, and choked on some of her beef. Genis had to use a spell to force the air out her lungs and push the piece of beef out. Aaron decided that he should cut in to the entertainment with the reason everybody was invited to the private dinner party. He stood up and put his knife to his glass, implying that everyone divert their attention to him._

"A toast? Isn't it late for that?" _Raine asked._

"No, not a toast!" _Aaron told,_ "I need to tell you all something."

_Aaron paused, trying to gather his thoughts._

"Well, say it already!" _Genis said, impatiently._

"Fine, fine," _Aaron started, then took a breath, and continued,_ "Iselia has plunged into war, and in turn, took a turn for the worse. The Mayor and War General have been using the War Department for research on how to awaken the ancient Archangels, beasts of tremendous ability, from their "eternal" slumber. Palmacosta has engaged themselves for war against Iselia, and Triet as well. Palmacosta supposedly already has killed an Archangel, and so has Iselia. In response to this threatening activity, I, Kratos, and Deadin have assembled an army to fight all of those engaged in war."

"That's foolish. Rebelling against a war by fighting against them? It's basically hypocrisy!" _Raine shouted._

"We intend to preserve the regenerated world from harm! If they awaken more of these 'Archangels' then we have no idea what will happen to the world! And if we don't stop them, they _will_ awaken all the Archangels!" _Aaron argued._

"This is what we did last time. We unlocked all the seals on both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, breaking all the mana links between the worlds. We didn't know what would happen, but we got lucky, and nothing all that bad happened." _Genis explained._

"See! He agrees with me...I think." _Aaron told._

"No, he's saying that you're being foolish. We were foolish on our mission, but we got lucky. This time, you may not be so lucky." _Raine said._

"Actually, I wasn't saying either of those things, I was just pointing out-" _Genis started, but was cut off by Raine._

"Shh! I'm trying to prove a point!" _she whispered. _

_Genis pouted._

"I think that if he's fighting for what he believes in, he can't be wrong." _Sheena said._

"Foolish words." _Raine snapped._

"What?" _Sheena said,_ "You fought for what YOU believed in back then!"

"I was foolish as well." _Raine sighed._

"So, are you saying that foolish may not be all that foolish?" _Sheena asked._

"I give up. Nobody understands what I'm trying to say!" _Raine shouted. The whole room fell silent, then Sheena spoke up again._

"Try and re-phrase what you mean then."

"I'm just saying. This is dangerous, and should be re-evaluated. There are safer methods to bring ends to a war."

"I don't think there's any other way." _Presea said, finally._

"What?" _Raine asked._

"Well, Iselia and Palmacosta are both very intent on their beliefs, and will stop at nothing to defeat each other, even if it means putting the world at risk. If we stop them with force, they can't fight back. Fight fire with fire." _she explained._

"That's why I love you! Brains AND brawn!" _Genis exclaimed, hugging Presea tightly. She returned the favor._

"I...guess I didn't think of it that way..." _Raine said._

"Well, I'll agree to fight!" _Sheena said. _

_Presea and Genis whispered to each other, then Genis said_ "Alright, Presea and I will fight for you!"

_Everybody stared at Raine intently._

"Fine! I'll fight! Maybe I can figure something out to make this safer..." _she told._

"Good, good. Well, we'll depart tomorrow, at sunrise, alright?" _Aaron said. The group nodded. _

_Overnight, Sheena told the Mizuhoans about the depature, and packed up. Raine and Genis practiced spellcasting, as they would need to be in top shape for battle. Presea packed up Genis, Raine, and her own belongings, then sharpened her axe. Aaron lied down, piecing together everything that had happened in the last two days. It was a lot to take in. He finally fell asleep two hours later. _

_In the morning, the group arrived at the center of New Mizuho, and put their belongings into the storage compartments of the Rheiards. Aaron explained that it would take a little to locate Exire, since it constantly moved. Raine simply explained to follow the movement of the wind, since the wind guides the floating city. Aaron felt like a moron. Then, running up them came Kyoshi._

"Wait, wait! I'm coming!" _he yelled at them._

"Oh, I almost forgot about you. Sorry..." _Aaron said._

"Yeah, alright, well, I have a good amount of Ozettians coming to fight. I just gave them the leftover Rheiards from what we were supplied by Deadin and Kratos. Hopefully they can all fit on them." _Kyoshi explained._

"Good, good. Thank you for doing that for me." _Aaron told._

"You're welcome. Now, let's go!" _Kyoshi exclaimed. _

_They took flight and Aaron felt the wind blowing Southwest. They took off, every once in awhile checking the icy cold wind for any change in directions. About thirty minutes into the flight, the wind changed to South. Then, in ten minutes, it wsa blowing West._

"Raine, I'm confused. If the wind keeps changing directions, how do we know we're going the right way?" _Aaron questioned._

"I can see the damned thing, that's why!" _Raine explained._

"Huh? Ohhh!" _Aaron gasped, seeing the floating city on the horizon. Rheiards were arriving and taking off constantly. _

_It actually looks like a military base Aaron thought._

"Let's go then!" _Genis shouted. _

_They were off, the cold air numbing their faces. Finally, they hovered above the ground of Exire, the floating city. An updraft caught them by surprise, and blew them back off of the city. Some dangled ominously, and Aaron thought he heard somebody shout "Not again!" from Exire, but shoved it off. Everybody recovered from the breeze and then landed down. Aaron showed everyone to their sleeping quarters, and then went to report to Deadin and Kratos of a successful mission, and hopefully, it wouldn't be the last one. There were still many other people missing from their missions. _

_Don't fail us...all of you... Aaron thought._

**RP #17 - Sekhmet. Posted on 8-25-06**

Several hours later, Zelos, Purrti and Vanim head to the flying city, after several attempts they finally land, then make their way to where Llyod and the others are. As the enter the small party... In the joyful atmosphere, they are depressed, not really wanting to report everything. Zelos leaves the girls, makes his way over to his wife, hugs her and kisses her with passion. Vanim looks at Purrti, who nods and goes to see if she can find Deadin amoungt the crowd. Vanim takes the news of the Kingdom join their cause, she goes to look for Aaron and whomever else she needs to give the report to.

**RP #18 - Runaway Angel. Posted on 8-25-06**

Mallee blinked and looked out of the gaping hole in the side of her home. What were those strange things flying through the sky away from their home?

"Tesory, are those...?" she asked her big sister.

Tesory walked over to the hole and her little sister. Everything about her was graceful. Her hair seemed to flow behind her even when she only took four steps. It was like watching a ballet. "Rheiards…." She muttered under her breath. "Nuis! We need-"

"No!" Mallee cried out sadly. "You promised I could have the next watch!"

Nuis took a step towards her. "Mallee…."

Tesory sighed. "We…did promise."

Nuis looked at her in disgust. "Tesory! What are you doing! She's only eight!"

"But… Nuis…" Tesory said sadly.

Mallee jumped up and down happily and ran up the makeshift ladder they had to the outside. Pushing away the piece of debris that any full grown human would only dream of moving, she quickly climbed out and replaced the rock. There was a sudden scream, and all of the visitors ran to the edge of one of the cliffs. She followed everyone and peered down. Three people were falling. Two men, and one young woman, about Tesory's age. She watched as the men dove as fast as they could to catch her. Poor thing. Too bad she didn't have wings like-

Mallee gave a violent gasp as she saw the two men reveal their wings. That wouldn't have been too bad a shock had they both not been human, and one of them… Her eyes widened. It couldn't be. It couldn't really be…

She half dived over the cliff herself, watching. Yes… it had to be him! She didn't recognize his clothes, but his hair and wings… it was exactly like her sibling's memories!

"Lord…" she muttered under her breath in awe.

She watched as the man caught the girl after the other man froze, with what appeared to be a boot in his hand. They slowly started to go up towards Exire. Afraid the man with blue wings would see her, (although she severly doubted he'd recognize her) she ran as fast as he could to the broken house and her her little abode. Bracing herself against the rock (she didn't know why she did this, but oh well), she put her hands on it, ready to push it out of the way. She froze as a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Hae. What are you doing with that rock?"

She looked fearfully at the face of the man. He was an ordinary human, but that didn't change how bad this situation could be.

"Wow. You're kind of young to be up here. Come on. I'll help you find your parents."

Floundering, and at a loss for words, Mallee let the man lead her. Wherever that may be.

Tesory sat on the floor, her head lying on the small table Nuis had made with some rock, wood, and rope. It was way after the time Mallee should have returned. Where was she?

"Stop being so anxious," Nuis said angrily, sharpening his plain steel sword that he had just for times when he was too bored to do anything else. "It's your fault she's out there anyway. I said-"

"Shove it up your nose Nuis," Tesory said angrily, not lifting her head from the table. "I don't have time. I'm actually worried about…" she let her entence trail off, knowing she had accidently hit a nerve with the boy. "I'm sorry," she said, "I'm just worried. Mallee's never even met strangers before…"

Nuis looked at her. "She has never left this hole and knows what the bottom of the ocean looks like. She can identify a male deer from a female deer, and has never even seen one before. She has never seen other people, but she'll know what to do." He looked at her for greater emphasis. "She has our memories. She has everything she needs."

Tesory looked up at her brother. "Those were really terrible examples you know."

Nuis glared at her, but she could have sworn she saw a smile in his eyes. She smiled at him. "Haha. Nuis is smiling…" she taunted the boy. If only she could just get him to laugh…

"Tesory! Nuis! You're never gonna believe this!" she cried out happily, even though Nuis' sword had swung to her throat after saying his name. It had happened too many times before for her to be phased by it.

"Mallee!" Tesory cried happily as she rushed to her little sister. "What took you so long! Nuis and I… well…. I, were so scared! Who knows what they could've done!"

Mallee hugged her sister. "I'm only late because one of the humans-"

"There are humans in Exire!" Nuis exclaimed.

Mallee nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah! And one of them found me and took me to everyone else he could, confused because I was too young to be in the war effort-"

"War effort!" Nuis cried angrily. "What are those scum doing now, and why are they bringing us into it!"

"Calm down Nuis," Tesory said angrily. "What was so amazing though Mallee? You said that as you came down…"

Mallee leaned over and whispered a name into Tesory's ear. It was a good thing she wasn't holding anything, because it would've hit the ground hard.

Nuis looked over to them in alarm. "What is it. What's going on?"

Tesory muttered something under her breath.

"Louder dam it! What is it!" he shouted at them.

"Lord… Kratos…" Tesory said a bit louder.

Nuis was never very emotional, and things like shock, pain, and sadness never seemed to register with him. But this time, he gave such a violent shudder that he almost fell out of the house. Not that that would've been anything to worry about.

"He's… here…?" he muttered to Mallee.

"I'm sure of it!" the eight year old said. "He's exactly like you remember, only wearing different clothes. But it's him alright!"

Nuis scrambled for Solizz while Tesory armed herself with her Sylph Knife and her Wind Bow. They both ran for the hole in the side of the enclosure.

"Stay here," Nuis said forcefully as Tesory dived into the sky. "Wait for us here. If we don't come back in a little while, wait longer. You know the drill." He dived out of the house without another word.

Mallee slumped against the wall. Why couldn't she EVER do anything!

The moon shined down upon the silent city of Exire. Everyone was asleep, except for two figures, who stalked the houses.

"I'll take this house, you take that one. If you find him, get me. Okay?" Tesory whispered. Nuis nodded.

She carefully slipped through the door and looked around. Normally, any human, and even most half-elfs couldn't see with it this dark, but for Tesory… She looked at the beds. There were three in here. In the bed nearest to the door was a man who had seemed to just fall into an uneasy sleep after crying for a few hours. How pathetic. She moved silently along. In the next bed was a woman with long blonde hair. She moved on. In the third bed was a young girl with brown hair. To her surprise, the girl was her age. That was rather unexpected. Shaking her head she turned around to leave. The girl slowly opened her eyes.

Nuis looked around. Humans, humans, and more humans. What did the filth want on Exire? It had been abandoned for as long as he and his sisters could remember. A scream suddenly split the night air, and Nuis ran out of the house in time to see Tesory run as fast as she could from the house.

There was suddenly a strange sound and a man with glowing blue wings appeared, his sword drawn. He dived right towards Tesory.

"SISTER!" Nuis screamed, scared for his sister's life. He ran as fast as he could to her, but to no avail. The figure landed right in front of her. She quickly drew her Sylph Knife, and the battle started.

Kratos, because it was obvious it was him, slashed at the intruder. He could see it was only a young girl, but that didn't matter. It was obvious she had attacked Terra. Tesory dodged and jumped out of the way. She didn't want to hurt him, but knew she probably couldn't.

By now, everyone was out of their houses and watching the battle rage between girl and man. The most surprising thing about the battle was how well the girl fought.

Kratos slashed at her head, but she stopped it with her swords. She took one and aimed for a blow to his stomach. Kratos released her top blade, stopped her second, and aimed for her legs. Tesory jumped higher than any of the humans, including Kratos, could believe, and jumped past the ring of spectators. She was now precariously close to the edge.

Kratos couldn't believe how long this battle was lasting. Ten minutes had past, him going as hard as he could, before he got the girl to trip over the edge and hang on for dear life. Tesory had been defeated.

He leaned down and offered her a hand up, when all of a sudden he went flying over the edge. Staring down at her was Nuis. "Give me your hand!" he cried, trying to get her to let go.

"Nuis! What have you done!" she shouted at him. He glared at her.

"He's an angel! He can take care of himself!"

She glanced down to see Kratos coming up to her like an arrow. "Okay!" she cried and allowed her brother to help her up. Just as she landed on the ground Kratos appeared and moved his sword to Nuis' neck. Game over.

"What do you want here?" he growled menacingly at them.

"Please don't hurt him!" Tesory cried, planting her face into the ground before the angel. "Please don't hurt him Lord Kratos!"

Everyone took a step back. Lord Kratos!

He looked down at her in surprise. "What?"

"Please," she said, tears in her eyes. "I never meant to upset the girl! I was just looking for you! My brother and I wished to speak with you! We were searching when I accidently bumped the girl's bed and she screamed. I never attacked her."

Kratos turned his attention to Nuis. He was staring at Kratos defiantly. "And what say you?"

Nuis continued to glare at him.

Kratos inched his sword closer to Nuis' throat. "Speak!"

He glared at Kratos with an even colder stare. "You attacked my sister. I had to defend her."

"With a cheap shot like that!" Someone in the audience cried. "Where's your honor!"

Tesory suddenly feared for the man's life. But instead of how Nuis normally reacted, he just bowed his head in shame.

"If I had honor to defend, I wouldn't have done that," he whispered.

No one except Tesory, Kratos, and Colette, since she was up, heard it. Kratos sheathed his blade. "Terra, does the girl speak the truth?"

The sixteen year old Tesory had seen earlier nodded. "Yeah… I just woke up and saw her grandpa."

Tesory's head spun around so fast she almost sprained her neck. "Grandpa! Lord Kratos-"

He bent down and helped her up, considering she was sitting down. "Come. Bring your brother, and we'll discuss whatever you needed to talk with me about."

She stood up and blinked. "You're not… mad at me?"

"You did not attack Terra as I thought you had, and I attacked you. I think the least I owe you is a discussion."

Tesory smiled and grabbed her brother's arm. "Thank you. Give me one second though. I need to get someone."

Nuis looked at her. "Let me. You go ahead."

She nodded and started to follow Kratos.

"Grandpa!"

The two turned around. Terra was right behind them. "Can I come with you?" she asked.

Tesory looked up at Kratos. "I wouldn't mind Lord Kratos."

Kratos looked at her strangely but nodded. "Why not?"

Terra smiled and followed them. She looked out of the corner of her eye. She could have sworn she something...

"Wait here for a minute," he told the two girls once they had reached an empty house. "I need to speak with someone really fast."

The two nodded as he left.

"So… I'm Terra Irving!" Terra said happily, extending her hand to Tesory.

Tesory looked at her for a second, then grasped her hand warmly. "I'm Tesory! It's nice to meet you Terra!"

They exchanged smiles for a few seconds. "So how did you learn about the battle?" Terra asked.

"I… I actually don't know what's going on," Tesory admitted. "You guys just appeared and we came up here to see what's going on."

Terra looked at her, surprised. "Up? You mean from the ground below!"

Tesory shook her head. "No. We live-"

"TESORY!"

Tesory and Terra turned to see Mallee and Nuis enter the house.

Tesory smiled. "Hi Mallee! This is my new friend, Terra!" She paused and turned to Terra. "We're friends… aren't we?"

Terra looked at her strangely. "Of course we're friends Tesory!"

Mallee turned to Terra. "I'm… Mallee…."

Tesory looked at her strangely. Mallee's hand went to Tesory's back. Tesory nodded. "Oh… Mallee doesn't speak that much in front of strangers."

Terra turned to her. "It's nice to meet you Mallee. Are…you Tesory and Nuis' little sister?"

She nodded.

"I see everyone is here."

They all turned to see Kratos standing in the door. Mallee blushed. He was even more handsome than in Tesory's and Nuis' memories.

Nuis bowed his head and stuffed himself into a corner. Tesory glared at him.

"So then. What did you want to ask me?" he asked, sitting down.

Mallee climbed onto Terra's lap. She didn't seem to mind.

"What are all of you humans doing here?" Tesory asked. "Exire has been abandoned for as long as me and my siblings can remember."

Kratos explained everything that happened so far, starting from where the strange meteors crashed.

Tesory nodded. "I remember those meteors… one, a small one, almost hit Exire. Made Mallee fell off. Scared the heck out of Nuis and I."

Mallee climbed down from Terra's lap and onto Tesory's.

Terra shuddered, remembering her incident from earlier today. "How did she survive the fall?"

"We have a couple of Rheiards and we just dived and caught her."

Kratos looked at them, surprised. "You have Rheiards? That could certainly help us in this war."

Tesory stood up and picked Mallee up. "Lord Kratos, if it is okay with you, I request to join this war you have started and fight alongside you and my new found friend."

Nuis jumped up. He opened his mouth to speak, but saw Kratos out of the corner of his eye and closed his mouth. Mallee wasn't the same.

"Tesory…" she turned to Kratos. "Lord Kratos… if I my sister will help you, so will I."

Nuis walked over to Tesory and put one of his hands on her back. Tesory smiled wide.

"Nuis says he'll help."

Kratos nodded and stood up. "Then welcome to the army you three. Let's go out and make your presence known."

Tesory and Mallee smiled and followed him out. Nuis let Terra out first, who smiled kindly at him and walked out of the door.

'Why doesn't he say anything?' She thought sadly as she left the house. It was late, and she needed rest after her ordeal.

Nuis pounded his head in frustration. Why had he suddenly felt so weird when Terra smiled at him? As if his knees were made of Gels…

"Nuis, come on!" Terra cried happily.

Nuis immediately forgot his anger and followed her.

**RP #19 - Sekhmet. Posted on 8-25-06**

Meanwhile elsewhere, Anna sat in a cell unsure of the reason of why she was captured. Her ears caught sounds but nothing that she understood, though most of it sounded like arguing, her nose twitched as she sniffed the air for any scent. She would move but her arms were chained and she was gagged to kept from bitting, she merely sat there thinking and listening.

**RP #20 - Newtype06. Posted on 8-25-06**

_"And do not forget who your family is. Never let them go. Ever."_

Deadin felt disgusted with himself. A fool, guiding the foolish. Night had fallen on Exire, and the escapades of the day had ended. Terra had almost died, and Deadin could do nothing. Kratos had proven himself useful yet again, and Lloyd had been forced to realize his own weakness. Deadin understood Kratos' frustration better than any person could realize…

_200 years ago…_

"Come on D! Lets' go!" she said, her golden hair flowing behind her. Lia ran blissfully through the field, at home in the tall grass. The falling sun glinted of her, casting long shadow across the field. A teenaged elf ran behind her, his black hair ruffling in the wind and his grey eyes constantly darting back and forth with each sound. "Sure Lia, but remember that dad wants us back before nightfall," he said.

Deadin Woodshadow, son of Falin, successor to the twelfth family of the Elvish lineage followed his little sister through the field. She was only in her thirties, while Deadin had just turned 45 a few days ago. Lia had hoped to take Deadin out on the walk for his birthday, but her sickness had prevented her from getting out. Now that she was better, they could spend some time together.

Deadin looked at his sister. She was beautiful, even when compared to others amongst the elvenkind. Her fair hair ran down to her hips, and the modest green dress she wore could not hide her stunning figure. In seventy years, she would be able to marry, and the young elf knew that he and his father would have a field day the day Lia came home with a suitor. Still, the elf couldn't help but laugh. He and his father would be trying to save the poor soul from centuries of "unbearable torment".

Lia looked back at Deadin, her green eyes smiling. "Come on, D, I'll race you to that tree!" She took off, laughing freely and looking occasionally over her shoulder. Deadin bolted, running flat out towards the husk of a tree that Lia had pointed towards. He didn't know why, but Lia had always called him 'D'. Perhaps it was because she saw him in a different light than his name suggested. "Silent-Shadow", that's what his name meant. He was indeed the most silent "shadow" of the Woodshadow clan, but in Lia's eyes, Deadin was neither silent, nor shadowy.

"Come On, you slowpoke!" Lia shouted, giggling hysterically throughout. "There's no way you'll beat me like that!" She ran even faster, laughing and flailing her arms about. Deadin huffed behind her, trying to match her speed. Even though he'd never let her know it, Deadin could've beaten her any day.

But seeing her happy was more than worth losing the race.

Lia flopped down at the base of the tree, and Deadin sat down beside her. She gave him a playful smack on the stomach. "How are you supposed to take over the family if you can't even catch me?" she teased. "I don't know," Deadin said, equally amused. "But how are you going to find a guy that'll put up with your attitude?" Deadin joked. Lia just sighed and sat back. The first stars had begun to poke through the increasing darkness.

"I thought I told you two to be back by nightfall," a voice said. "Deadin, stand and pay attention."

Deadin bolted up, and turned around to find himself face to face with his father, the great Falin Woodshadow. Falin was one of the oldest elves alive, even though he didn't show it. At nearly 650 years of age, Falin still looked like he was in his four hundreds, merely forty by human standards. If there was any elf more respected than Falin, that elf did not live in Heimdall.

"Sir," Deadin stammered, standing straight backed in front of his father. "I'm sorry, sir…"

The grey haired elf smiled. "You understand your mistake, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"And you understand that your sister's condition is a serious one?"

"Of course, father."

"Lia still needs rest, Deadin. Let's go." Falin said, and turned back to the direction of the family house. "Still, it is a beautiful night… Let's take our time."

Deadin Draugdu screamed in anger. It had been more than a hundred and fifty years since he had seen either of them. Falin would be almost eight hundred, putting him amongst the oldest elves to ever live, and Lia would be two hundred and thirty. He had missed her wedding by a hundred and thirty years, at the most. She could already have had sons and daughters, and Deadin would never know…The Grey Elf paced the empty platforms of Heimdall, contemplating the hypocrisy of his words.

_"And do not forget who your family is. Never let them go. Ever."_

Deadin growled, subconsciously slipping into his Hybrid form. The Hybrid howled solemnly at the moon, before taking off down one of the massive walkways. Deadin ran hard and fast, his claws digging grooves into the hardened rock. He ran as hard as he could, until he saw one single tree ahead of him. Deadin slowed to a stop before the old oak, laying a hand upon the surface.

He had let his family go years ago. He had forgotten them.

Sounds of battle diverted Deadin's attention. Slipping into the shadows, the Hybrid drew his broadsword and stalked the platforms. His nose detected the familiar scent of Kratos, along with several others…

They seemed…_different._

Deadin made his way carefully. He didn't want to give away his position to the combatants. Deadin watched as the spectacle unfurled. Kratos battled his way through two attackers, who, much to Deadin's surprise, seemed to challenge the old swordsman.

_Rusty_…Deadin thought. _These two should pose no threat…_

But, in the end Kratos pulled through, and defeated the two. They seemed to have some discussion, Deadin's wolfen ears picking up every spoken word, culminating in the group walking off.

The Grey Wolf followed, eager to meet this new challenge.

Kratos, Terra, and the young woman entered one of the main buildings. Deadin followed silently, pausing again as the young man and a young girl burst into the building later. The Hybrid forced himself to revert to his elven form, waiting patiently for the meeting to disperse.

Finally, Terra and the three new inhabitants emerged. Deadin decided to break his silence.

"Lady Terra," he said. "Everything is alright, I assume?"

"Oh yeah," Terra replied. "Grandpa got into a fight with them, but now they're our friends!"

"And a worthy challenge they proved to be," Deadin said in an offhand manner. "Allow me to introduce myself."

Deadin drew his broadsword in a single swift motion, bringing it to a rest in front of him. After a few elaborate swings, he plunged the blade into the ground in front of him. "Deadin, Deadin Draugdu," the elf started, bowing deeply at the waist. "Exile of Heimdall, student of Niten and Aurion." Extending a hand gently towards the three, Deadin indicated that it was their turn. "And you may be…?"

"Tesory," the young woman said, eyeing Deadin up and down. "Heimdall…you… You're an Elf!" she shouted.

"And you are a half elf," Deadin said flatly. "It's a small matter." He turned his attention to the young man.

"Nuis" the half elf boy said, not in the least bit interested in Deadin.

"Honour is in the eye of the beholder. It was honourable to rush to the aid of your sister. Honour is something you strive for for yourself, not for others. If you feel you acted correctly in saving your sister, than you have found honour."

Nuis looked at Deadin with a glare that could light a candle, but the wise elf just let it ride over him.

"And what's your name?" Deadin said softly to the girl that suddenly dived behind Tesory.

"She's Mallee" Tesory said. "She's our sister."

"You're all related?" Deadin said, surprised at the revelation.

"Yes," Nuis said flatly.

"Interesting," Deadin said. He reached back into his rucksack, producing a familiar object. Terra almost laughed when she saw the normally terse and grizzled Deadin stoop down and give Mallee the small training bell he had used on her a few days earlier. "A gift, for a new friend," Deadin said. He stood back up, and retrieved his sword, which was still planted firmly in the ground.

"Lady Terra, if you would like, I will escort you back to your quarters, and see to it that these three are given a proper lodging." Deadin said, bowing his head slightly in Terra's direction and sliding the blade home into its scabbard.

"Sure," Terra said, turning back to her house.

"It's alright," Tesory said. "We have a place to stay."

"Understood," Deadin said. "By the way, your swordsmanship was excellent. I could use you two at my training classes. Please come see me on the northern landing pad someday. Your skills will be of great use."

"Thanks," Nuis said gruffly.

And with that, the group made their way off into the night. Deadin recounted a few stories of his freelance days, back when he was a wandering swordsman and fought in several wars. The three newcomers seemed interested in the stories, and Deadin was all too happy to produce them. Terra left the group after a few minutes, and the three left a short while later.

_A family that fights together_…Deadin thought. _Very interesting…_ Suddenly, a rock rolled nearby. Deadin wheeled about, hand to his sword hilt.

"Deadin Draugdu?" A voice came from the shadows, "I bring a message from Anna."

Purrti stepped out from the shadows.

"What is it?" Deadin said, an inch of fear in his voice…


	18. Building an Army

**RP #1 - Sekhmet. Posted on 8-25-06**

Purrti lowered her green eyes and took a deep breath, closed her eyes briefly then looked Deadin directly in the eyes.

Purrti: Vanim told me to inform you that Anna was taken by the ArchAngel of Lighting.

She went into her story about what had happened, she barely noticed the half elves with him but felt their presence. After she finished, she lowered her eyes then noticed the young Mallee staring at her.

Meanwhile, Vanim was conveying her report to Kratos and Aaron ending with Anna's capture and the king vowing to help the cause.

**RP #2 - Kevin1292. Posted on 8-25-06**

After all the commotion had ended and everybody was back to there quarters Kyoshi walked over to Aaron.

"Hey, you remember what you said earlier when we had left for New Mizuho... about us being friends?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Aaron replied sleepily.

"What did you mean?"

"It's nothing..."

"Please tell me. When I saw those two at the house, Genis and Raine I think, they seemed really familiar, and now you, it seems like I've known you my whole life."

"Well, in Iselia, I went to the school there, I met Terra Irving, who introduced me to you. You were one of my friends, but I guess you don't remember."

Kyoshi sighed. "Something must've happened, I can barely remember my parents, and after talking to you, well, I guess I forgot more of them and knew more about you. Maybe they weren't my real parents? What if I'm a half-elf like you too?" Kyoshi sighed yet again. "I am really confused. I guess I should ask my mom, or if she is my mom about it."

"I don't know, I never saw any half-elf features on you, but not all look like them, if you were, then the human genes would have to be dominant."

"Well, I'm going to go take a walk and think about this for awhile, I'll be back later." Kyoshi walked out and started heading to the landing pad. Suddenly he was stopped by a man appearing to be Kratos.

"... Where are you going?" He asked.

"I'm going to Iselia, I need to ask my mom something." Kyoshi replied walking off.

Then they heard someone shouting. "You won't make it there without me!"

"...Aaron?" Kyoshi turned around and saw Aaron running toward them.

"I'm going with you, you'll get lost if you go by yourself."

"That's probably true. I don't exactly know my way around here." Kyoshi sighed.

"Well then let's go." Kyoshi and Aaron went to the landing pad and boarded the Rheiards heading to Iselia.

They descended near Kyoshi's old house and disembarked. They walked in, Kyoshi going upstairs while Aaron waited downstairs.

56 minutes had passed when Kyoshi finally came down, with a not so happy look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Aaron asked.

"I'm a half-elf. My real parents were banished and I was left, similar to Genis and Raine."

"How did you know about them?"

"I grew up working for Lloyd, and that's what he talked about when I took a break." There was a moment of silence that filled the room. "And since I'm a half-elf, I want you to teach me magic." Kyoshi had a smile on his face.

Kyoshi obtained the title of ?(can't think): Just found that he is a half-elf. Oh joy!

Aaron was shocked. "I don't know if I can teach you magic, I'm not much of a teacher. But if you want, I'll try, and if I can't, Raine and Genis will teach you."

"Alright. I guess we should get going now."

"Yeah, we shouldn't alarm anybody by being gone too long, or being gone at all." With that the two boarded the Rheiards and flew back to Exire. When they arrived Kratos was standing in the same spot he was when they had left.

"Back already?"

"Already? We've been gone for nearly two hours. Have you been standing there that whole time?"

"That shouldn't concern you, so just get to bed."

"Whatever." They walked back to their quarters talking the majority of the walk about what had happened in Iselia.

**RP #3 - Runaway Angel. Posted on 8-26-06**

Nuis sat on the edge of their house, his feet dangling over the edge. He... just couldn't get Terra off his mind. She was so beautiful... and kind... and funny... He screamed at himself and tried to push her out of his mind. It wasn't working.

He jumped as he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright Nuis?"

He turned to Tesory. "Yeah..."

"Thinking about that strange elf we met earlier?" She asked him, sitting next to him. Mallee was asleep.

"Er... sure," he said.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Well... what did you think of him?"

Nuis looked out at the stars. "I... I liked him."

Tesory snapped up. "You... you liked him!"

Nuis turned to her. "What? What is there to not like?"

"Well... you've just... never said you actually... _liked_ anyone before. It's usually more like, "They're satisfactory" or "If you really think so"."

Nuis stared sadly out at the ground below. "He's... different."

_Honour is in the eye of the beholder. It was honourable to rush to the aid of your sister. Honour is something you strive for for yourself, not for others. If you feel you acted correctly in saving your sister, than you have found honour_

His sister had said things like that many times to him. But hearing it from someone else... it just sort of cemented it.

"Hae... how did you know elves came from Heimdall?" he asked her. He hadn't known that.

"Don't you rmemeber? 7 years ago..."

He nodded solemnly. Oh yeah...

Tesory gave him a kiss on the cheek and stood up. "I know you're going to go down to the ground, so I wish you good night now, because I'll be asleep by the time you get back. We're going to have a busy day tomarrow. Just get breakfast. I'm sure there'll be something else with our new friends for lunch."

He gave her a rare halfish-smile (XX) and jumped out of the hole.

**RP #4 - Runaway Angel. Posted on 8-26-06**

Mallee blinked her eyes and looked around. It was pitch black, and she knew she shouldn't be up, but... She carefully stood up. She had tied the bell around her waist. This would make sneaking out a bit more of a challenge. Awesome.

She stood up and walked to where her sister usually slept- sitting up, her head bent forward itno her crossed arms on the table. She looked around. Nuis was gone. What a surprise.

Mallee stretched her shoulders. She wanted to talk with someone. Aan idea immediately came to her head. She smiled.

Terra rolled over in her bed. A lot of people had dreams where they flew. Terra's were nightmares of falling. She'd learned her lesson- you wouldn't see her by the edge again.

"Terra... can... I sit with you?"

SHe blinked sleepily. Who had said that? She lookied up to see Mallee standing next to her bed.

"What?"

"I'm lonely, and Nuis is gone and Tesory is asleep."

'And I wasn't?' "Okay," Terra said quietly, rubbing her eyes and standing up. "I'll sit with you for a little while."

The two walked over to the east most landing pad. Although it was dark, the stars shone bright, and a nice breeze blew across the currently empty city.

"Hae... what's up with Nuis?" Terra asked, sitting next to the eight year old.

She looked up at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Terra replied looking out over the silent city, "why is he so uptight and quiet? And he seemed okay before Grandpa came in, and then..."

"Don't think so badly about Nuis," Mallee said sadly. "It's not his fault."

Terra opened her mouth to speak, but closed it. She didn't think badly about Nuis, but she didn't want to interrupt Mallee.

"A... a long time ago, something bad happened to us. The three of us. We barely got away with our lives, and, although Nuis did his best, he wasn't strong enough to protect us. It killed the person he was, leaving behind only what you see now: a sad, strong boy who is aggresive and overly protective. He's different around Lord Kratos..." she sighed. How to put it? "Lord Kratos is his hero. All of ours actually. Nuis refuses to speak with him, and actually doesn't even want to be in the same room with him... because he finds himself unworthy to be in his presence."

Terra frowned. Poor guy. He was worse off then she had thought. She looked around. Was it her imagination, but did the sky seem to be getting a little lighter? "It's pretty late," Terra said, helping Mallee up, "and you need your sleep. Do you need help getting home?"

Mallee shook her head. She then smiled. "Thank you for sitting with me!" She smiled again and walked off.

Terra smiled at her and stood up. There was no use going to bed now, it was almost dawn. She yawned and walked over towards the northern landing platform, waiting for her teacher.

Mallee pushed the rock out of the way and climbed down. She walked to the hole; she could see Nuis coming towards them. She curled up on the floor, her sleeping spot, and pretended to be sleeping. That conversation was one memory she wouldn't share with her brother.

**RP #5 - Sekhmet. Posted on 8-26-06**

Vanim sat near the edge of Epire as they passed over the ocean, she wondered if this was her ocean and longed to return to it brimy waters. Her green hair blew in the winds around the floating island. She found that she was usually alone though the island was a buzz with life and people. Rising looked down at the ocean, she sighed then headed to her chamber, to moisten her skin which felt dried out by the flowing winds. She could see the children come and go from a certain area but she left it alone... if they wished to speak with her she would let them approuch her. She wanted to find Deadin or someone to speak with but she wasn't sure what she would have to say to them. She decided that she had to speak with Deadin, so she went to find him to see that Purrti had already spoke with him regarding Anna's capture. She wondered if he knew how much Anna really liked him, she decided it was better that she leave him alone for now. Several minutes later, she was back in her chamber.

**RP #6 - Runaway Angel. Posted on 8-26-06**

Tesory frowned. Was Terra really the only student for today?

Terra muttered under her breath and layed down. Where the heck was Deadin!

"Okay," Tesory said, Nuis and Mallee watching her, "come on Terra. Let's see if I can't teach you a new trick or two."

Terra sighed and stood up. "Alright. I think I'm pretty good, but..."

"Confidence is key," Nuis told her. "If you think you can do it, you most likely can."

Terra smiled at him, and Nuis hid his face behind Mallee.

"My brother is right. Now come on. Get out your blade. I specialize in twin blades, but-"

"I can teach her."

The two turned towards Nuis, who was currently standing up, his metal sword in his hand.

"Um... okay," Tesory said, switching roles with Nuis.

"Alright. First, we'll work on an effective thrust I know. This'll only work if you've worked on your balance, precision-"

Terra smiled. "Yep. Done all that."

Nuis blinked, somewhat bewildered. "Oh.. uh... yeah. Okay. Hold your sword hilt towards your waist... like this." He moved her hand closer to her waist. Terra blushed a little, but Nuis didn't appear to notice. "OKay. Turn it 45o to the left.

A little confused, Terra tilted it left.

"A little more to the right... perfect. See doesn't that feel comfortable?" He laughed at the strange look on Terra's face. "Alright. Now... thrust!" Terra shoved the blade foward. "See? That feels strange like nothing else, right? Alright, bring it back in, but don't turn it." Terra did as she was instructed.

Nuis stepped away from her and tilted his hand in the same direction. "Alright. As you thrust forward, tilt it to a more relaxed position. Go slowly now, and you can go faster as ypou practice it more."

Terra bit her lower lip and followed his example multiple times.

"Alright. Now I want you to thrust normally into this dummy," Nuis told her, lugging a straw-filled sack towards her (it was in a training supply house nearby).

She shrugged and slammed her sword into the dummy. It pierced one side, but not the other.

"Now try it with the spin."

She struck it as hard as she could, using the spin technique. She sent the dummy flying over the edge. That was pretty impressive from 10 feet away. Nuis smiled.

"Good job."

Terra's stomach suddenly rumbled. "I'm hungry. Can we get something to eat?"

Nuis scratched his head embarrasedly (whoa XX is that even a word?). "Uh... sure. Do you want me to get you something from down below?"

She looked at him strangely. "Oh yeah! That's right. You have Rheairds, don't you?"

He nodded.

"I'll go get something Nuis. Besides, I know you don't hunt very well with people along, and I'm taking Mallee," Tesory said, walking towards the Wing Pack she had brought up with her.

Nuis' eyes widened and he lightly blushed.

"Yeah. Why don't you talk with her a bit? She doesn't know you very well," Tesory continued.

She brought out the Rehiard and hoped on it with Mallee. They quickly sped away.

Nuis turned to Terra's smiling face. "Ah...well... I ah..."

"So... how long have you lived here?" Terra asked him, hoping to take the awkward look off his face.

"NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!"

**RP #7 - Sekhmet. Posted on 8-27-06**

After Purrti spoke with Deadin, then quickly dismissed herself, she wanted to find Vanim to see what the others had to say but decided that could wait, she did want to talk to the young half elves, she wanted to talk to Nuis, but she would let him find her. She went to the training area that Deadin had set up to train Terra and she began her practice. Taking out her anger and aggression on the practice dummies.

**RP #8 – Genis Sage. Posted on 8-28-06**

Merrick lay in the inn. He had been in some really, REALLY stupid accidents before, but this one took the cake. He faded in and out of reality, and the colors in both worlds before his eyes seemed to swirl and fade into each other. Luckily, his ears still worked, so he could still communicate with Ellyria.

"I'm off to find Regal, just letting you know. Oh, and try not to hit your head and fall over 20 feet again, okay? You've already done that twice today!"

Merrick lifted his hand and gave the thumbs up. Too much energy! He got even dizzier and let his arm fall beside him, as he heard the door close... maybe a nap was all he needed. He gave in to the sleepyness that he had feared just moments before. "If I die, well, it's not like it'd be any worse than this..."

He wasn't sure if it was a dream or not, but his imagination was running rampant. He dreamt that he was being held captive for a ransom of donuts. He wanted very much to wake up, since he knew that wasn't reality, yet he couls still feel the headache, and didn't want the full pain back.

knock, knock!

"Unnnngh..."

knock, knock!

"What?"

knock, knock!

"IT'S OPEN, DAMN IT!"

knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock!

"AAAAARGH!" Merrick screamed, as he heard some laughing from he other side of the door. Finally, he heard Ellyria talking.

"Okay, I think we tortured him enough."

... "I'm going to... kill her to death!"

The door creaked open, and Merrick heard two sets of footprints. "This is the man? All right. HEALER!" Merrick felt a bit better, and could now see properly again, but the headache was still there.

"Thanks... are you Regal?"

"I am." Merrick threw himself off his bed, and not surprisingly, missed his feet. He got back up. Ellyria gave him a look which he understood to mean 'What got into you?' but he ignored it. He had a mission, and the sooner it was completed, the sooner... well, he felt a little silly thinking about it.

"Lloyd sent us. You're needed in Exire. We'll explain along the way!"

"Your friend here already told me that, but I have no rheiard." Merrick immediately, without thinking, went into 'I wanna be on the same rheiard as Ellyria' mode.

"You can use mine," Merrick offered, "I'll share with her!" He regretted saying it immediately after it came out of his mouth. Why did he keep doing stupid things without thinking them through? He shook his head. "Or you can share with me, it doesn't matter, I just don't think it's safe for me to fly these anymore, after all that happened today..."

"I brought a spare." Ellyria Told him. Regal shook his head.

"No, I have a better idea."

Two rheiards flew towards Exire. Behind them, however...

"REGAL, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" Merrick wasn't taking kindly to being tied to both rheiards and being dragged along like some sort of banner. It might not have been TOO bad if there weren't so many birds, but Merrick was still a little dizzy and this didn't help...

"Exire, we're almost there!" Ellyria called back to Merrick.

"I haven't been here in quite some time..."

"I need another lunch, I lost mine back there..."

**RP #9 – Sekhmet. Posted on 8-28-06**

Vanim decided after entering her room that she really did need to go find Purrti. She could feel Purrti's frustration and anger, what they didn't need was an angry Werewolf and Purrdi at the sametime. After several minutes, Vanim found Purrti taking her frustation out on the practice dummy. Vanim felt a presence of another in the room, she turned and saw Nuis watching. She carefully made her way over to him, she had wanted to meet this young elf. Purrti spun in the air and came down with a backward flip to land directly on top of the dummy. She was panting but still wanted to keep going.

Vanim: Hello, I am Vanim, Priestess of Fond. He barely took his eyes off of the large feline to acknowledge her I am an ocean elf.. Nuis head turned to look at the her I just wanted to meet you.

Nuis: I did not know elves lived outside of the elven village, other then us.

Vanim: Young one...

Nuis: My name is Nuis.

Vanim: nods And seeing that I'm over 1000 years old, you would be a young one, Nuis. I've lived almost all my life under the ocean, the land elves and ocean elves rarely mingle...

Nuis: Yet, you are here. nods toward Purrti What is she?

Vanim: A very upset Purrdi or black panther. I just wanted to check on her.

Nuis: You know magic?

Vanim: Mostly water goddess magic but yes, I know magic.

Nuis: My sister... turns away nevermind... Vanim merely smiles and doesn't push the subject.

Vanim: I think Purrti is fine here for now. It was nice talking to you, Nuis Vanim turns to walk out of the room

Mallee: softly Excuse me Vanim turns to look at the young female elf But I think my brother wanted to ask if you would train me... Vanim walks over to Mallee, kneels to be eye to eye with her but you are... I... get fluttered

Vanim: You want to learn elven magic?

**RP #10 – Sekhmet. Posted on 8-28-06**

Purrti was concentrating on the practice dummy not paying attention to the world around her, the image of the dummy became that of the Angel of Lighting as she continued on. She did not see Lius or Vanim in the room, she did not hear them talking all she could see was Anna being taken. Several hours later, exhausted she slumped to the floor no longer angry, she was cying. She didn't care if anyone else was in the room or not, she felt helpless. She didn't understand why Vanim had her go tell Deadin about Anna's capture until she looked into his eyes, she saw the beast looking back at her as well, it was shocked as much as Deadin was... She wanted to tell Deadin that Anna was in love with him but she used up her courage telling him about Anna's capture. She hit the floor with her clinced paw hard, leaving a dent in the floor, she slowly got up to see if she could find Vanim or someone to speak with.  
She like the cursed elf and she didn't want to hurt him, she wasn't sure just yet of the young elves, though they had great potential. Her mind wondered back to her forest, she wanted to know how her family was and if they were safe yet she had a job... though she felt that she failed in part of it. Maybe Merrick was a good person to talk to but she wasn't so sure, shrugging she went to go find someone.


	19. Complications

**RP #10 – Sekhmet. Posted on 8-28-06**

Purrti was concentrating on the practice dummy not paying attention to the world around her, the image of the dummy became that of the Angel of Lighting as she continued on. She did not see Lius or Vanim in the room, she did not hear them talking all she could see was Anna being taken. Several hours later, exhausted she slumped to the floor no longer angry, she was cying. She didn't care if anyone else was in the room or not, she felt helpless. She didn't understand why Vanim had her go tell Deadin about Anna's capture until she looked into his eyes, she saw the beast looking back at her as well, it was shocked as much as Deadin was... She wanted to tell Deadin that Anna was in love with him but she used up her courage telling him about Anna's capture. She hit the floor with her clinced paw hard, leaving a dent in the floor, she slowly got up to see if she could find Vanim or someone to speak with.  
She like the cursed elf and she didn't want to hurt him, she wasn't sure just yet of the young elves, though they had great potential. Her mind wondered back to her forest, she wanted to know how her family was and if they were safe yet she had a job... though she felt that she failed in part of it. Maybe Merrick was a good person to talk to but she wasn't so sure, shrugging she went to go find someone.

**RP #11 – Dragoon Taryn. Posted on 8-28-06**

As Regal and Ellyria dragged Merrick closer to Exire, an evil thought crossed Ellyria's mind. She grinned wickedly; she didn't usually like to be so mean, but Merrick seemed to be one of those guys that practically BEGGED to be picked on.

When they had become close enough to Exire to make a landing, Ellyria instead slammed on the breaks, making Merrick go flying forward. Then, for an added kick, she cut the rope that was attached to her Rheiard, and laughed hysterically as Merrick tumbled onto the surface and rolled around.

"Damn you woman!" she heard him shout.

"It... it wasn't me! The rope was faulty!" she managed to squeak out, too busy laughing.

Trying to calm herself, Ellyria went in for a landing, just as Regal was trying to fix Merrick's banged up body.

Ellyria leaned over Merrick. "Where does it hurt, kiddo?"

Merrick groaned. "Everywhere! Even my hair hurts!"

"Teehee! You'll be fine!" her attention immediately turned elsewhere. "Hey, did Yuan come back yet? Yuan! Where are you?" she shouted as she ran out of Merrick's sight.

After running around Exire, Ellyria found Deadin. "Deadin! Hey there!" she greeted him as she jumped towards him. "Do you know if Yuan came back yet?"

"No, not yet," the elf replied half-heartedly.

Deadin's mind was obviously elsewhere, and Ellyria didn't want to probe into his thoughts too deep. On the other hand, she was just too nosy.

"Worried about someone?"

Deadin shook his head, as if trying to get whatever it was off his mind. "It's just... nevermind, Ellyria. I don't want to trouble you with my thoughts."

Ellyria frowned slightly, then smiled. "Well, I don't know what it is, but if you're worried about someone, the best thing to do is check on them, right?" She slammed her fist into her open palm. "Speaking of, I'm going to go find Yuan! See you later Deadin!"

With a wave, Ellyria ran off to the edge of Exire to get on her Rheiard.

**RP #12 – Dragoon Taryn. Posted on 8-28-06**

Ellyria flew across the skies in her Rheiard, keeping an eye out for Yuan, or one of the Renegade bases. She didn't remember exactly where the bases were, but she knew one was in the icy region of Flanoir, and one was near Triet, or possibly Iselia. Regardless, she still looked everywhere, in case they had set up new bases.

As she flew over the Flanoir, she noticed that one of the small islands surrounding the main Flanoir continent seemed to be moving. _Wait, it's not moving,_ she realized, _There's people down there, moving around!_

Carefully, Ellyria swung the Rheiard around and began descending towards the island. When she got closer, she recognized the uniforms that the men wore. They looked like Desians, but Ellyria knew they weren't. She had found one of the Renegade bases; and not only that, she recognized a man with aqua-blue hair.

"Ahha, I found you!" she exclaimed, speeding up as she descended.

When it seemed like she was going to crash, she leaped off the Rheiard, quickly putting it into her Wing Pack, and ran towards him.

"YUAN!" she shouted, pouncing on his back, wrapping her arms and legs around him, "I found you!"

Yuan almost fell over at the impact of Ellyria suddenly appearing, and jumping on him, of all things. "Ellyria! Don't appear out of nowhere!"

She giggled. "Oh, sorry! I was just happy that I found you!"

Suppressed laughter could be heard from the group of Renegades. Ellyria and Yuan both looked up to see most of the Renegades with grins or smirks on their faces.

"Hiya guys! Coming to fight the good fight with us, are you?" Ellyria cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

Yuan shifted uncomfortably. "Could you possibly, um, get off of me? What's wrong with you? Have you been drinking?"

Ellyria put her finger to her chin. "Well, now that you mention it, I did have a few potions when I was in Altamira..."

"That explains a lot," Yuan muttered, trying to peel Ellyria's legs off of his waist. "Come on, let go!"

"All right, all right!" Ellyria let go of Yuan, but forgot that he was still holding her legs, and she promptly fell backwards and landed on the ground. "Owwww..."

Yuan knelt down beside her. "Sorry, are you all right?"

"Of course I am! Say Yuan, you never mentioned you had a twin! He looks just like you!" Ellyria remarked, looking at him in awe.

Yuan sighed. "Looks like I'll be dragging you back to Exire," he told her as he picked her up.

"Yes! We're going flying! Me, Yuan, and his twin!" Ellyria giggled.

All Yuan could do was sigh.

**RP #13 – Runaway Angel. Posted on 8-28-06**

Nuis and Terra ran over o the edge, Terra forgetting her fear in curiosiy s to why Tesory had shouted Nuis' name in annoyance. She gasped.

"She's falling!" she screamed in horror as she saw Mallee hurtling towards the ground.

Nuis looked down. "Tesory!" he shouted. She looked up at him. "Did she jump _again_!" Tesory couldn't hear her answer, but it sounded lke Nuis did.

"Dam that girl!" he cursed. "Mallee!" he shouted down t the younger of the two girls. "When you get up here, there will be no mercy got it!"

Terra looked at him in alarm. "Your sister is hurtling to her death and you're THREATNING her! What kind of brother are you!" (YES I mix CAPS and _italics_ together. Problem? SUE _me_)

He looked at her sadly. He just wouldn't be able to stand it if she hated him...

"Don't you get it!" He shouted angrily at her. "She JUMPED. She FLUNG herself off the Rheiard." He turned his attention to Mallee. "You can't fly!" he yelled down at her. Mallee apparently responded due to the look on Nuis' face.

"WHY YOU LITTLE!" he screamed, and flung himself off the edge. He expected to feel the wind tugging at his clothes and flowing through his hair, but all he could feel was a tugging on his right arm. He looked up. Terra was half-over the edge, holding nto Nuis with all of her might.

'She cares about me...' he thought happily. He almost smiled, but managed to push it back.

"What... is... up with... (gah!)... your family... (MAH you're heavy!) and... fall...ing!" Terra gasped.

A smile played in Nuis' eyes, which was about as close to a smile as he got nowadays. "I guess we just like the way it feels."

(please remind me to add in the couple of lines that go here)

With a grunt, Terra pulled him up onto the platform. Seconds later, an, obviously irritated, Tesory appeard, Mallee in hand.

Nuis glared at Mallee. "You scared Terra. Apologize Mallee."

Mallee bowed her head in shame. Terra watched sadly as tears dropped from her eyes to the ground.

"Mallee, that only works with your sister, Lord Kratos, and me. Speak up."

font size"1" "I'm sorry I scared you Terra." she whispered, just loud enough for Terra to hear.

Terra looked at her, bewildered. Nuis walked over to Tesory and placed his hand on her back. She nodded.

"Mallee, as punishment, you will not be allowed to leave Exire. Also, you will have to follow either Tesory, Terra, or I around until we deem you resonsible enough to not jump off of Rhieards." He looked twards the other two 16 year olds. "Is that alright with you girls?" They nodded. He sighed and bent down.

"Mallee, you KNOW why you can't fly. You endanger yourself and those around you. Do you understand?" Mallee nodded sadly. "Chin up," he said, and gave her an actual smile. Tesory seemed shocked, and Mallee was suddenly overjoyed beyond words. She hugged his neck as tightly as she could.

He stod up and picked her up. "I'll tkae her first. You two go have fun doing whatever i is you girls do."

Tesory nodded and grabbed Terra's hand, pulling her away. Nuis put Mallee down when he suddenly hard something strange coming from a supply house.

**RP #14 – Sekhmet. Posted on 8-30-06**

Anna remained sitting in the cell, as she leaned against the moldy wall in the dank celler of whereever she was. She wondered why she was as taken, what was about her that was would be important to whoever. She wondered if she was going to be used for something

**RP #15 - Newtype06. Posted on 9-2-06 **

"And that is why I must go," Deadin said, staring across the table at Kratos and Lloyd. "Anna is a comrade and a friend, and I must go to her."

Kratos and Lloyd exchanged dubious glances. It was very out of character for Deadin to abandon business for personal reasons. As far as Lloyd could tell, Deadin hadn't even shown up for the sword lessons today. Lessons that Deadin was supposed to be teaching, instead of sitting here talking to the two swordsmen. Kratos, meanwhile, watched the Elf's eyes carefully. Something was different about them. Normally they were hard, focused, set upon the mission. Now, the Elf's eyes betrayed a sense of fear. However, the pale grey orbs still took up an air of ferocity and determination. A veneer of courage to spur on the Elf's heart.

Kratos leaned forward, his hand resting on his sword hilt.

"Take a fast Rheiard. Travel lightly. We will be ready when the two of you return." he said.

"Thank you, my old friend," Deadin sighed, clasping hands with his two comrades. "Look after the troops, especially the new ones. They have to learn quickly. War is upon us." With that, Deadin turned and left.

Shapeless figures passed by Deadin as he half-walked to the Northern Platform. The world was a blur, a random shifting of colors and forms. Deadin's mind was elsewhere. He would begin his search in Meltokio, where Anna was captured. Passing by the supply shed, Deadin felt it: The Beast. Like a thousand red ants crawling through his mind, The Beast tingled in anticipation. It knew that the next battle would be a wrathful, furious frenzy. The wild half of Deadin had been dormant lately, as if it knew it could profit from Deadin's reason as he guided their body through the current troubles. But Deadin knew that the moment the Beast joined him in the bloodlust would be the moment he would lose control.

Deadin clenched his teeth, redoubling his mental defenses, and kept walking.

Passing by Nuis, Tesory, Mallee, and Terra, Deadin gave them a quick nod. "I must leave on a mission, Lady Terra," Deadin said, giving them a curt nod. "I shall return shortly, I would hope." Deadin's glance drifted slightly over Nuis. "Watch over each other," the Elf said to no one in particular. "Kratos and Lloyd will be busy. It will be up to you to train each other. You" he said, indicating Tesory, "are an excellent swordsman. I leave the training sessions to you and your kin until I return."

The Grey Elf popped a wing pack, mounted a Rheiard, and took flight.

_Anna got up off the cold stone floor. She had been here for days, as best she could tell. Meager meals and silent captors made for a grim existence. Suddenly, A door opened, and a figure stood silhouetted in the frame. Her eyes weakened by days in the darkness, the bright light blinded the purrdi for a moment. Anna jumped up as best she could, but the figure overpowered her quickly, pushing a dagger into her heart. As the light faded from her eyes--_

Deadin snapped awake, screaming incoherently. He leapt up, raking a tree with his claws. _His claws._ Powerless in his sleeping state, Deadin's mind had already taken him to his hybrid form. Calming himself, Deadin slipped back into his true form. He would need all the control he could muster. He was heading into Meltokio, the scene of the crime. Even now, the Beast returned even stronger, the thousands of ants sprouting wings and stinging his mind as terrible hornets. Deadin focused on a mental image of Anna, and pressed on.

The Grey Elf stepped through the gate of Meltokio, trying to recount the last time he had been there. In the fifty years since his last visit, little had changed. The stores and merchants still bustled with activity, the slums still reeked of the poor and dispossessed, and the golden palaces still stood, pleasantly aloof from all that would disturb them.

It took Deadin the better part of the day to find him. A man, bent with age, leaning on a walking stick, stood across the street from one of the many convenience stores. The Elf stepped up to the old man, offering him his arm to ease the walking stick.

"How goes things, Xaviel?" Deadin said quietly. "How goes your city?"

Xaviel, the old man, let some of his white hair fall off his shoulders and across his chest. Deadin noticed the pointy ears. He had met Xaviel a long time ago, and had kept in contact with the Half-Elf since then.

"Troubled, Tainted One," Xaviel replied. He never missed an opportunity to mock Deadin, reminding the full-blooded elf of the discrimination Xaviel had to endure for almost four hundred years. "There have been many attacks by creatures that baffle the mind. Creatures that do not come from these lands…"

"Tarivians," Deadin grunted. "They are the new plague that infects this world. But onto other things. I require the skills of your organization."

"Tell me more," Xaviel whispered, genuinely interested.

"I need to learn the location of Anna Lea Iscon. She is part Purrdi, the Panther-folk that roam the forests. She was here, in the city, not long ago. I imagine that _someone_ remembers seeing her."

"This may take some time, even with my particular…talents…" Xaviel mused.

"Name any price," Deadin stated flatly. "But get your informants onto it. She must be found immediately."

Xaviel nodded, deep in thought. That didn't stop him from sneaking one last comment.

"Getting soft, Tainted One? Saving damsels doesn't suit you. A Tainted Elf is much more suited to being a villain."

"Shut up, Xaviel, and get this done." Deadin snarled, a little more brutishly than he intended. Xaviel laughed. He had struck a cord, breaking the normally indestructible defenses that Deadin had put up.

"It will take me three days, at the least." Xaviel said. "I suggest you spend some time practicing. Since those 'Tarivians' attacked, the city has spent most of it's time scraping it's soldiers off the walls."

**RP #16 - Sekhmet. Posted on 9-3-06 **

Vanim after talking with Mallie's brother and sister finally convinced them that Mallie for the time being should stay with her. After the first hour, Mallie had learned that the high priestess was not one to be triffled with, her magic held Mallie in supended animation while Vanim just merely shook her head then took her her chambers. Mallie thought the room that was mostly water was cool then she was dumped unceremonality on the dry area, as Vanim shifted to her merform entering the water.

Vanim: Mallie, if you want to learn magic you are going to have to listen to me.

Mallie: I.. I want to learn.

Vanim: Then you are going to have to learn focus and concentration otherwise, I can't train you. And trying to dive off the edge of this place is not the way... I wonder if they will let me take you with me to the ocean.

Mallie looks at Vanim in confusion but lets her speech sink in as Vanim comes out of the water. Vanim practice patience with the young half elf, treating her as if she was a full elf. She was going to make sure that Mallie focused her energized and her thoughts. She didn't want her to become unfocused and accidently kill someone else or even herself.  
After several days, Mallie's inate powers slowly become focused, She mediated with Vanim before the high priestess would be let her practice any magic, let alone learn any spells. When she felt that Mallie was ready, she showed her the smallest of spells and had her practice that while she watched correcting Mallie's movements and even how she pronounced a word.  
When Vanim decided that Mallie could return to her siblings Mallie knew quite a few spells and was more focused. Mallie excitedly told Nuis and Tesory about what she was doing and then collapsed in bed to get some much needed sleep as she was excited to began the next day.  
Vanim when Mallie was gone worried about Ann but there was nothing she could do. Vanim felt she needed to return to the ocean soon, she would have to take Mallie with her, so she could learn the stronger spells and meet the ocean elves, who didn't care if she was a half elf, as they saw it they were half fish. She also whated to speak with her goddess in the temple and her thoughts turned to Mallie's siblings and she wondered if the young elves would like to go with her as well.

**RP #17 - White Rose. Posted on 9-6-06 **

Another morning had creeped upon the sleeping sky city of Exire. Light broke through sun faded bedsheets covering windows inside of an abandoned house where Sheena and Zelos--for the time being--claimed as their home away from home. It wasn't much... certainly not at lavish as Zelos' mansion in Meltokio. And certainly not as cheerful and inviting as Sheena's hut in New Mizuho. But it was a fairly small, and relatively quaint aboad, made of stone, dirt, and moss. Inside, a deteriorating wooden table laced with small holes, ridges, and splintering pieces of wood sat in the corner of the house, and on opposite sides of the table, sat aged wooden stools... probably made of ancient gold Mahogany. A tree once native to Exire at one point in the town's deep and long history. The floor was nothing more than carved limestone. A well used woven burgandy rug hid only some patches of grasses and moss that grew through the cracks of the floor. There was a mid-sized bookshelf against one wall, and a wardrobe against another. Even the kitchen was small and simple. A sink, a set of cabinets, a tiny counter, and a stove. And two rather plain open windows near the door, and on the left side wall, brought in the only sources of heat and light. Whereas, the moss covered roof kept the house seasonal all year around. It was pretty much like this inside most of the smaller houses of Exire, save a few additional floors on one of the main buildings, and more windows.

As the gentle breezes blew against the makeshift curtains, the rays of the sun narrowed and widened in a continous pattern, touching the floor, the walls, and eventually reaching the sleeping couple. The roughly handcrafted wooden full size bed was barely enough to fit the two people, especially the rather tall redheaded male. This was made evident, as one of Zelos' feet was sticking plain out of the covers, and the other rested uncomfortably on the footboard of the bed. Sheena was resting her head on Zelos' chest, instead of the pillow... which had wound up on the floor. It couldn't be helped. Any further away from him, and she'd probably end up on the floor with the pillow. Zelos, who was lying on his back; grumbled, and covered his face, trying to block the light from his eyes. Turning over to his side a moment later, Sheena followed suit, slinking her arm loosely around her husband's bare waist. The sunlight filtering through the house was like a relentless ocean wave. It never faultered.

Opening his sleep deprived, and bloodshot eyes in anger, the swordsman turned his already cramped neck, trying hard to glare at the window... As if that was going to do anything at all. He was about to reach for his sword, sitting in it's sheath, and propped against the nightstand next to him, to hurl it at the window. Somehow thinking in a sleepless state, that this fruitless effort would do something about the light, his pursuit of killing the window stopped in its tracks. Sheena had greeted her love with a kiss to his cheek, followed by several to his neck. Zelos soon relaxed, and he sighed with contentment.

...Sheena Fujibayashi... the beautiful woman that stole his heart from the time they met each other in Meltokio as young kids. A woman of many talents, with a shy but sometimes hotheaded nature. And of course she had the body of a goddess... at least to him. She was unlike any female Zelos had ever met. And because of his stupid antics as a younger, more immature person, Sheena was the one girl in which he had a true and genuine love for--that he had almost lost any hope of ever being with... Vowing that he would change, Zelos finally won the ninja's heart nearly eight years ago, sealing the deal with a proposal that shocked everyone, including himself.

A smile spread across his face, and he brought his hand to her hand that was wrapped around him. Caressing it and her arm rather seductively, he pulled her hand up to his lips, and kissed it... drawing a heart with his tongue. ...It drove the summon absolutely crazy, and she blushed, practically butter in his hands. He turned around and faced her... lowering the blanket around them just a little, tempting the summoner. "Good morning, sexy." He said sweetly, though rather sleepily. Sheena eyes her casanova husband through half sleepy eyes... Such a master of his element. Her heart was racing inside of her chest... She blushed again, smiling contently. He cupped her cheek with his hand. "I missed you..." He said again, waking up just a little more. Laughing a little, she couldn't decide what to do with her hands. So, she just left them at her side. "Well yeah... I mean how things started out when you arrived and all, I think THAT was pretty obvious." Zelos grinned, and leaned close to her. His breath felt on her lips... "Oh. You mean like this?" The swordsman planted his lips upon hers, opening them slightly and preparing to make his move. She moaned slightly when his tongue met hers, only urging Zelos on. Their kiss soon deepened into a passionate embrace...

...Then came the knock at the door. What fine timing indeed.

Zelos' eyes became angered again, and he growled at the interruption, cursing a little under his breath. Sheena laughed. He was so cute when he got angry... which was pretty rare for him. She pushed him away playfully, after the knock was heard again. "Go get it Zelos." Zelos turned around and sat on the side of the bed. He cracked his neck, and scratched his chest. "Yeah yeah...I'm goin'." She smiled as she watched him bend over to reach for his pants that were at his feet. He slipped them on, and made his way over to the door, opening it and shielding himself from the light for a moment.

Standing outside the door was Terra, who was staring at a line of ants crawling up the front wall of the house. She was in the middle of mumbling to herself... In some kind of scientific theory about how ants could possibly exist this high up in the sky, when a hand tapped the girl's shoulder. Terra jumped a little and blushes, looking at the smirking red head. "Terra Irving... another professor Raine in the making." He chuckled with amusement. "So, what's up?" Terra was still blushing a little, seeing Zelos in nothing but his pants, and almost forgets why she had knocked on the door in the first place. ...Even at his age, her "uncle" was in great shape. He didn't even look his age. Terra cleared her throat, and then breaths before speaking. "I... well..." She starts to speak, rather nervously. Scratching the back of her head, she continues. "I need someone to talk to..."

Sheena calls from inside the house, and Terra looks at the door. "I wasn't bothering you... was I?" Zelos sighs a bit, but smiles at her. "Nah. We were just waking up when you knocked." Terra looks at him, then back at the door. "Oh... I just thought..." There was an akward moment of silence between the two. It was broken about a minute later when Sheena called for Zelos again. "Wait here. I'll be right back." Terra nods, and Zelos backs into the house, shutting the door softly.

"Zelos, was that Terra?" He nods. Sheena sits up, covering her body with the sheets, and speaks again with some concern. "Is something wrong? Is she okay?" He shrugs and reaches for his black tank top that sat bundled in a wad on the floor. "I don't know. But man... that kid has her mother written all over her. Modest as ever." Sheena laughs. "Well, you weren't exactly presentable." He smirks as he walks over to a small mirror sitting on the dresser. He puts on his shirt, then picks up his hair brush to comb through his long, firey red hair. "Well, you didn't exactly give me time to BE presentable." She stands up and walks over to him. Zelos startles for a second as the summoner wraps her arms around his waist, and playfully smacks his chest. "Shut up..." She says with a sigh. He glances over his shoulder as best as possible at her. "You alright hun?" He asks, getting a feeling that she wasn't. Sheena lays her head on his back, taking in the scent of his hair. "We just don't do this sort of thing very often... as much as we use to..." Her hold around him gets a little tighter. "The night after you came here was amazing. And just then... we were... before Terra showed up." She sighs with some frustration. "It's always one interruption, or distraction, or something else to take care of... we never seem to have any time together. ...Alone."

He smiles and turns around, placing his hands around her. "Look... I know it's been pretty hard for us over the years. You as chief and emissonary... Me, with whatever the king has me do in Meltokio or elsewhere..." He sighs, a bit frustrated. "And especially now, since these things came here, hell bent on taking over our planet. But, just like 20 years ago--" He cups her cheek. "We'll get through it." She pulls him closer. "And when this is all over... then what?" The suave red head brushes aside some of Sheena's hair, placing it behind her ear. "And then I'll make it up to you." He whispers softly, and seductively in her ear. She looks up at him, about to speak. He hushes her with a finger to her mouth. "No distractions... no interruptions. Just us. Like it use to be." He bends down some to kiss her. "I promise." She hugs him and he hugs her back. "I can't believe how much you've changed over the years... and all for--" He kisses her again, cutting her off. "You." He finishes for her, looking straight into her deep brown eyes. They hold each other closer, not wanting to let go. Tears well up in Sheena's eyes, and she smiles, letting some fall down her face. "...I love you, Zelos." He rests his chin on top of her head. "I love you too, baby."

Terra knocks softly once again, and the two separate. Sheena wipes her eyes, and sits down. "Go on..." Zelos stares at Sheena for a moment, taking in everything that happened, questioning whether to make up some excuse to have Terra go away. Sheena shakes her head, sensing the conflict swirling in his head. He sighs, then slowly turns to the door and begins towards it. "Hey... Get dressed, alright? Aside from the weird sky and all, it's pretty pleasant out right now." The summoner nods, and Zelos opens the door. Walking out, he closes the door behind him.

Outside, Terra was standing at the wall of the house with her arms crossed. ...In an all too familiar pose. Zelos smirks, looking at her. "Man... you know little angel, you remind me of Kratos when you do that. And frankly... it's creepy." She blushed a little, and glared at Zelos angrily. Being reminded of her grandpa, and being told it was creepy, didn't exactly sit well. "What took so long?" She snapped--her arms still crossed. She put her head down for a moment. "... Is Sheena ok? She didn't sound too happy..." Zelos blinked his eyes for a moment. "Whoa. Mood swing." He sighs and puts his hands up. "Women..." After a few seconds, and realization dawned on him, and he raises an eyebrow, and crossed his arms. "Wait... You eavesdropped?" Terra's eyes widen and she jumps. "No! I could hear some things though..." Her face flushes with embarrasement. "I'm sorry..." Zelos rolls his eyes and smirks again. "Wow. And there's your mom." He says with amusement. She blushes again, scratching her head. "Oh really? I...I'm sorry." The swordsman refrains from laughing, realizing more and more each day just how familiar Terra was to her entire family. "So anyway, what's troubling my little cutie?" Terra blushes AGAIN. "...Uncle Zelos..."

The swordsman blinked his eyes several times taken aback at the word uncle. He placed his hand on her head, ruffling her hair some. "Heh. You haven't called me that in a few years, kiddo." He smiles at her. "Glad to see you haven't forgotten about the rest of us." Terra smacks his arm lightly. "...I haven't." She begins to walk over to a small tree, growing by the edge of the nearby cliff at which Zelos' temporary house sat. She kneeled down, and gripped the grass below her with tightly formed fists...seemingly afraid to get any closer to the ledge. Zelos watched her with concern as her body started to tremble a little. He scratched his chin and tilted his head, opening his mouth to speak, but hesitating. Finally walking over to her, he sits down next to her. Situating himself by bringing one knee up to his chest, stretching the other, and supporting himself with his hands and arms, the swordsman stares out at the sky with Terra. Gentle winds blow across the grasses of Exire in a wave, rustling flora all around, before flowing through Terra and Zelos' hair, lifting strands and waving them around like streaming ribbons. And then there was silence... Save for distant conversations of those who happened to be up, the music of whatever birds could live aboard Exire, and the calls of various bugs. Zelos glances over at her a few minutes later, before sprawling out in the grass placing his hands behind his head and yawning. "Anytime, kid..." He says, now staring at a passing cloud above him.

Several minutes passed without much activity... well, with the exception of two elven siblings hiding nearby...

"Nuis, where are you going? We just met her!" Tesory said with a whisper, as Nuis inched ever closer to the edge of the wall, as the two older elves, Tesory and Nuis, hid along the side of Zelos and Sheena's temporary home. "You'll get caught! They'll think you're up to something!" Nuis quickly turned to his sister and silenced her. "I... I just want to talk to her. That's all." Tesory smirks. "Then why are you so afraid? Just go up to her. She won't bite you." Nuis blushes. "...There are those other humans around her." Tesory sighs and shrugs. "And your point is?" Nuis startles, searching for a reason. "...I just don't like them. That's all. I'll try to talk to her when they leave." He silences them again. "Just be quiet for now! Don't make a sound, okay?" Tesory sighs, patting Nuis on his back. "Fine... I'll play along with your silly game dear brother. I'll be quiet." She says with a light chuckle.

The door of the house opened then shut. The sound of light footsteps crunching the grass and the rattle of something balancing on a tray were heard. Nuis and Tesory startled, but relaxed soon after as the ninja passed them by. Sheena approached the two and sat down next to Zelos, carefully placing the tray on the ground. Zelos' eyes shift to her and he smiles. "Hey guys." The ninja says, lifting a steaming cup up off the tray and blowing on it. Terra looks at what's in the three cups. "Tea?" She asks curiously. Sheena smiles. "Herbal. Made with an herb called orange ginger. It grows around my village." Sheena hands Terra a cup, and she smells it, showing a peculiar face a moment later. "Weird..." Sheena hands Zelos a cup. "It takes some getting use to." She says, lifting her own cup up, to drink. Zelos nudges Terra in the elbow. "Usually, only adults drink this. It's really sort of a bittersweet energy booster, and packs a punch when you need to wake up." He takes a careful sip and sets it down. "I hated this stuff when Sheena first let me try it. I spat it right out..." Sheena laughs. "Yeah, you did. Right all over my grandpa!" She laughs again, and Zelos looks at her with a smirk. "I couldn't help it if his big head was in the way, and that stuff tasted like cigar ash." Sheena puts her cup down and glares at Zelos. "What! You..." He plants a kiss on her. "I what?" She blushes as she catches Terra looking at them smiling. "You... you..." She sighs. "...You win..." They laugh and Zelos puts his arm around her shoulders. "You know, your dear grandfather made me wash his floor after that. Said I wasn't respectful of tradition, or his face, or something." Sheena stifles another chuckle and takes another sip, placing it back down on the tray afterwards. Terra puts her cup down and shoves it away from her. "Um... I'll pass... Sorry aunt Sheena..."

Sheena looks at Terra a little suprised. "Wow... I haven't heard that one in a while." Terra stares down at the grass again... "I'm sorry..." She apologized for the fourth time in less than twenty minutes. Zelos places his cup on the tray and wraps his other arm over Terra's shoulders, pulling her close. "You don't have to apologize for everything, Terra. We get enough of that from your mom as it is." He says with a chuckle. "Just talk already... what's going on?" Terra brings her knees up to her chest and sighs. "I... I'm just... I..." Sheena moves away from Zelos and sits down next to Terra, looking at her. "You're scared." Terra startles. "No! I'm..." Sheena rubs her back. "It's okay to be scared. We all are, even if we don't want to admit it..." Tears well up in Terra's eyes and she sniffles. "How can you two be scared? You can fight! I'm just in the way..." She buries her head in her knees. "I can't fight like everyone here... And I'm no good with magic, even though Aaron taught me some things..."

Zelos nearly chokes with suprise. Meanwhile, Nuis and Tesory look on in total disbelief, with their jaws practically to the floor. "Aaron did what, now!" Zelos almost yelled. Sheena looked just as suprised, and both stare at her inquisitivly... Her eyes move between the two several times. "...He... he taught me magic..." She said quietly. The couple exchanged confused glances, as did Nuis and Tesory, then eye her again. "But you need an exsphere or a cruxis crystal..." Sheena says pointing to her exphere mounted to her hand, and Zelos' cruxis crystal situated upon his chest. "Not to mention, you need to be of elvish blood..." His eyes widen, and he stares at Sheena. "The Iselia-Triet Militia! Of course!" Sheena tilts her head at him, a bit confused. Nuis and Tesory look on, equally as confused. Zelos starts to speak again after a few moments. "They've developed this substance that's been worked on for years, which, when injected into the bloodstream, can supposidly make a human able to use magic without the need of an exsphere or a cruxis crystal. Kind of like what the Renegades gave to me back when they first learned that I was the Chosen..." He pauses to scratch his head. "Yuan told me that him and Kratos had worked on something similar for centuries. It was fully tested since Kratos already had it coursing through him, and it was free of any harmful effects. So, I agreed to it." Sheena reverts her gaze to him, very perplexed. "So... if you were able to use your abilities because of this stuff, then why the need for the cruxis crystal?" Zelos looks back at her. "Remember babe, Chosen were considered marters just 20 years ago. To protect us until we reached our final destination, any possible side effects of our abilities would've needed to be held at bay. Exspheres and Cruxis Crystal both act as a barrier since humans CAN'T learn magic, as much as the military wants to try to believe it. It's genetically impossible. We lack the gene that elves and half-elves possess. If we tried and actually succeeded somehow, it would most likely kill us. We'd either explode from any kind of electric spell, burn from fire, or drown... Kratos and I are only able to use our abilities since we already possessed cruxis crystals, and had this stuff in us."

Terra's eyes widen. "Aaron never told me all this... He told me it was safe... I wouldn't of agreed otherwise. I'm not that naive. And besides, I hate needles..." Terra shudders, and Zelos sighs, looks at Sheena then at Terra again. "Your dad never give you an expshere, did he Terra?" Terra shakes her head slowly. "No..." Zelos's lips furl with anger, and the swordsman growls, instantly rising to his feet. "Dammit Aaron! What the hell was that idiot thinking! It must of been an order from his commander..." He curses. "I don't know where that son of a bitch commander gets off, using kids in his experiements!" Terra and Sheena rise, and look at him with worry. He was pissed. "Zelos, what is it?" Sheena asks. "Unlike what Yuan and Kratos gave me, that other crap the military thinks so highly of, isn't proven..." He starts quietly, pausing to breath. "I was there, helping them research the developement of it about six years ago. It was never finalized, since over half of the people that got injected with it experienced all kinds of negative side effects. Some people even died... Thousands of vials were destroyed, and the project started over a year later with funding from Meltokio..." Terra stares at him with disgust. "They came to me and asked me for finances, but I wouldn't do it... not after what I saw..." Sheena nods. "Oh yeah... so that's why those soliders kept hounding us for money..." She looked at Zelos with a raised eye. "I was wondering why you spent so much time in Sybak that one year... I knew you were involved in something, but the details of what the military told me were fuzzy and incomplete. Not even the Mizuho information network could gather me helpful information." Zelos nods. "Yeah... The whole project was top secret, and on high security notice. I was told by the military higher ups to keep my mouth shut, on the threat of New Mizuho. So... I did." She shakes her head, and stares at him angerily. "I can't believe you kept this from me... We could've stopped it all from happening... Zelos grabs her hands. "And risk you or our entire village? I wasn't about to start a war, when there was already one brewing. New Mizuho would've been wiped off the map faster than was, now. Our militia wouldn't of stood half a chance against the might of Iselia-Triet's army."

Sheena sighs, and stares out across Exire, spotting Kratos talking something over with Lloyd, and Colette hanging something out to dry, on a clothesline. "...Yeah. I suppose so. Still..." She pauses to breath. "Where was Lloyd or Colette when Terra was injected with this stuff!" They never would've agreed to this... they might've gone after the commander himself!" Terra's eyes lock onto the ground. "My parents let Deadin and Kratos train me... and that's when Aaron showed up..." She rubs her arm where she was injected. "He went back to his base and came back later with that stuff he gave me." She shakes her head again. "Grandpa asked Aaron the same things you guys are wondering... side effects, is it safe?... all that." Zelos laughs. "And of course Aaron denied all of that, didn't he?" She nods. Zelos crosses his arms, and begins to chuckle. "Man. This is rich. It's a damn military cover up. And whether or not Aaron is in on it, or just as naive as Kratos was... I SAW the results of that sh. It shouldn't of been given to anyone. Period." Terra's eyes narrow, welding up with tears, and she sits down again, bringing her knees to her chest. "My parents don't have any idea what I did..." She wipes some tears away, and snivels. "I... I'm afraid to say anything to anyone, or show anybody what I can do... What if something happens to me later on!" She says with a shaky and scared voice.

Sheena huddles close to Zelos and he holds her. "Zelos..." She says, just as scared as Terra. Zelos looks out at the sky, and watches as a migrating flock of birds pass beneth Exire. "We'll have to tell Lloyd and Colette sometime or another." He directs his eyes to her. "In the meantime, we'll just have to monitor her. When Raine comes, I'll tell her what's happened. Just in case... you know... we need her." Sheena's fists ball together and her lip furls. "Dammit all... why do people further insist on diving into things they don't understand!" Zelos sighs, regaining some of his composure. "Elves and Half-elves have understood nature for their entire exsistance. It's us humans that seem to always create this kind of mess, isn't it?" Terra snivels again, bringing her head up to look out at the sky. "The weakness of curiosity... the weakness of power... and greed. We all want what benefits us best. People want civility and peace, but it's always within arms length... In all of our time on Symphonia, from what I've learned about the history of the world, war always seems to be the only answer. ...And yet, it solves nothing at all." The couple raise eyebrows and stare at Terra with mouths slightly ajar. "Well, that was a rather intellegent view on things. And the complete truth." Sheena says. Zelos smirks. "Well, I can see her brain didn't come from Lloyd. ...Fortunately." They all laugh, but then Terra sighs again, with worry. "Will I be okay uncle Zelos?" Zelos and Sheena exchange concerned looks, then sit down on either side of Terra. "That's what I'm hoping for, kid." Sheena puts an arm around Terra's shoulders. "We'll keep you as safe as we can, alright? First sign of anything suspicious, and you're going straight to the professor. You hear me?" Terra nods. "...Alright."

Hearing far more than they needed to, Tesory pulls Nuis away from the side of the house, and behind a tree at the corner of it. "What in hell was all that! Who is this Aaron kid, and what did this military do to our friend?" Tesory says with a slightly raised, but moderatly calm voice. Nuis was pissed... His eyes flared with anger, and his fists were tightly balled together. "They forced this on her... Those wretched human dogs!" He said, hitting his hand against the tree, tearing up his knuckles but not even flinching. "I can't believe they'd do that to their own kind, and then have the audacity to inflict the same to a young maiden who wasn't even apart of their war! It's blasphemy!" Tesory lays a hand on her shaking brother's shoulder. "Calm yourself Nuis... you're getting too worked up." He swats her hand away and kicks the tree. "Of course I am! She didn't want that! Those military pigs and that Aaron kid may end up hurting her, or worse..." Tesory smiles and brings her hand up to his chin, moving his face to hers. "There's nothing we can do about this now. The best thing you can do for Terra, is just to protect her... okay?" Nuis sighs with frustration, slightly relaxing his body. "...Yeah. Sure." She closes her eyes and smiles, opening them up a moment later. "So... you still gonna talk to her?" Nuis startles once again, and blushes. "Sh...shut up Tesory! I don't know..."

After sitting with Terra for a little while, Zelos told her that him and Sheena needed to finish getting ready. Sheena asked if she was going to be okay, and Terra nodded slowly, but with a hint of uncertainty behind it. They couldn't blame her. Not even they knew what, if anything, was going to happen. They just hoped that something could be done, or that luck was on their side. Zelos handed Terra one of his hankerchiefs he kept in his pocket, and she wiped her eyes. The piece of cloth smelt pretty fragrant, and this got Terra to laugh a little. After getting a pat on the back by Zelos, and a hug from Sheena, the couple left Terra and slinked back into the house to further prepare for the day.

And so, Terra continued to stare out over Exire as she sat on the ground, with her knees drawn to her chest. Many questions now filled her mind, as did doubt that she never had before. She hated to, but now she questioned Aaron Sage. ...Her best friend in the entire world. At least, that's what she wanted to believe. Why had this been done to her? And why, of all people, was Aaron the one that carried it out? A war she suddenly found herself somehow involved in. An ancient man from 4,000 years ago who she found out was her grandfather of all things. A freak encounter with an elven-wolf who turned out to be not only a friend, but a willing teacher... And now, she had been practically forced to learn something through a potentially harmful, or fatal substance.

...Life had suddenly gotten very complicated for the young Irving.

**RP #18 - Lord Yuan. Posted on 9-6-06 **

"Damnit!" Merrick whispered. He had been eavesdropping on Terra's conversation with Zelos and Sheena. "I know, I shouldn't have listened in, but I wanted to learn more about her, maybe get to know her a little bit so I'd stop making an ass of myself, but to find this out? I want to be there for her, but what can I do? I can't change the past, I can't predict the future, and this isn't the time for singing..."

Merrick emerged from his hiding spot and began to pace. "Humans can't use magic? I don't understand, then. How can my sword's magic be used at my will, now that I know how to release it's power? No, now's not the time to think about me! I'm not the one that could die!"

He looked over at her. She was barely 10 feet away, yet as he talked to himself, she didn't seem to hear him. "I guess the only thing I can do is to be there for her..." he took a step towards her. "Damnit, I can't, not after yesterday!"

Merrick had remembered when wood was needed for various purposes, so the two of them went down to the Iselia Forest to get some. He was stupid enough to say "Nice axe, wanna latch onto my shaft?" and wasn't sure if now was a good time to talk to her, seeing how she might still be a little upset with him.

Merrick sighed, and turned to see the house Zelos and Sheena had walked back into. Being the important people they were, Merrick knew of the legends of Zelos's debauchery. After a moment of thought, he realized that him and Zelos weren't so different, and since Terra trusted Zelos, he probably could too.

Another knock at the couple's door. Sheena groaned. "What's with this place this morning? Zelos, go get it." Zelos sighed.

"Again?" Zelos opened the door to see someone he didn't know, and therefore, shouldn't be disturning him. If he hadn't already been awake, he might have been mad, but he decided to be nice... for now. "Can I help you?"

"You're Zelos, right? We need to talk..." in a whisper, he added "... it's about Terra."

Or, at least, Merrick thought it was a whisper. Apparently, Sheena heard him too. She hurried over to the door and said, "Come in, then."

"So, what about Terra?" Zelos asked, genuinely worried about the youngest of the Irvings. After what they just talked about, he was hoping it wasn't more bad news. Once glance at Sheena was enough for him to see that she was thinking the same thing.

"Um, well I kinda overheard the talk you had with her, and..."

"You eavesdropped?" Sheena asked.

"I didn't have any ill intent!" he said in a rush. "It's just that, well, I want to do something to help, but I don't know what. My first thought was that since I'm one of the younger ones here, around her age, I could at least be moral support, but then I remembered the other day, when..."

He told them everything, from his stupid perverted axe comment to why he was eavesdropping. Sheena frowned, but then started to laugh.

"Sorry, I'm not laughing at you!" she told him, "It's just that I remember that exact same line from a certain someone I wound up marrying..." Zelos started laughing too, and Merrick could hear him mumble something along the lines of 'She remembered that?'

"So, kid, it sounds like you really like Terra. Well, see, the first thing is to be there for her when she needs you." Zelos told him. "And if you want to do that, that's more important than one cheesy line going wrong!"

"Or at least it is to some women." Sheena added.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks..." Merrick replied, as he left. He knew only one thing he could do right now. He walked over beside her and sat down, looking across the same sky. She looked over at him, and said "Hi" quite normally.

Merrick wasn't sure how to begin, so he just said, "I heard you talking to Zelos and Sheena, and..."

"And what?" Terra asked, "What can you do that they can't? What are you going to do, tell my parents? Just leave me alone!"

"... No. I won't tell your parents, and I won't leave until I finish saying what I have to say. I'll tell you what I can do that they can't. They have lives, responsibilities, obligations, you know? I don't. They can be busy. I'm never busy. If you ever need me, I'm there, okay? Either to talk to, or even just a shoulder to lean on. I don't want you to feel alone, because you're not..."

"I sure feel really alone right now." she said, "I don't know what's going to happen to me."

"I can't change the past, and I can't see the future..." Merrick said, using the lines he'd basically been rehearsing earlier, "But I CAN affect the present. Right now, you're in no immediate risk, right? Well, if anything does start to happen, I'll be the first one to throw myself into the fray in finding a way to save you, okay?"

... no answer.

Merrick sighed. "Besides, I didn't just come here to talk about that. There's nothing better to do in times like this than to keep your mind off things. Look over at that cloud, doesn't it look like a dragon?"

"Thanks," she told him, as she looked up again, "Just don't start singing again, I don't want to draw attention this way."

"No prob, sometimes, it helps not being the center of attention." Merrick hesitated. "Aaron was that guy who helped me in the forest, right? I don't believe that he did this of his own free will, either. If you ask me, he had false information. Maybe he thought it was 100 safe."

"Maybe..."

"Sorry, I started talk about that thing I said we wouldn't talk about again, didn't I?"

Meanwhile, back inside the house, Sheena came to a realisation. "I hope the Professor doesn't try to dissect her like she wanted to do to Corrine..."

**RP #19 - Newtype06. Posted on 9-6-06 **

Exactly three days had passed since Xaviel and his "associates" had begun their search, and Deadin was beginning to get agitated. For the last three days, the Elf had remained in the sewers under the city, sharpening his skill and getting warmed up for the fight to come. And besides, if the Beast decided to emerge, Deadin's exposure to innocents would be limited. Very few "innocents" prowled the sewers of Meltokio. The Beast was still prowling around, and Deadin could barely keep his hands steady. His vicious alter ego only needed the smell of blood to unlock itself and send Deadin into the far corners of the subconscious.

The world had been silent, save for the constant dripping of the pipes and the occasional squeal of a hungry rat. In fact, when Deadin heard the footsteps, he first wrote them off as a reechoing of his own. But when the Elf stopped moving, and still heard the increasingly loud cadence of the footsteps. The Elf hid himself amongst the shadows, awaiting this new guest.

A young lad, maybe in his teens, emerged from one of the tunnels. Deadin did not relax. Age meant nothing, as he was well aware. Poison, hidden weapons, and possible reinforcements could make any foe dangerous. The boy stopped where Deadin had been practicing, looking around intently.

"Deadin Draugdu," the lad said calmly. "I bring word from Xaviel, Chieftain of the Black Talon thieves' guild. We have found your friend. Or at least, we know the direction where they fled. The Creature fled to the northeast."

"That puts them towards Ozette, Heimdall, Altamira, anywhere!" Deadin shouted, stepping out from the darkness.

"Indeed," the boy replied, nodding towards the newly emerged elf, taking his dramatic entrance in stride. "But none of our operatives in Ozette and Altamira reported seeing the creatures fly over their lands."

"That means…" Deadin whispered…

"They stopped near Heimdall." the boy finished.

_Inconsequential,_ Deadin thought. _I must be ready to do anything to save my friends. I must not fear my past. It has been one hundred and seventy years. They will not remember me._

"Thank you, my boy," Deadin said, stepping up to the young man and dropping a small coin pouch into his hand. "For your services, and give my regards to Xaviel."

"I have one last message from Xaviel, Master Draugdu," the boy said, his air of calmness and professionalism dropping slightly. "He said 'Go, and prove me wrong, Tainted One. If we meet again, I will tell tales of the wisdom, integrity, and honour of Deadin Draugdu, a shining example of the Elvenkind.' "

Deadin nodded gruffly, turned on his heel, and left the boy.

Three Hours Later

The sun was setting on Heimdall, Village of the Elves. Ecthgow, Captain of the Guard, watched as a single figure stepped forward from the increasing darkness of Ymir. His face was obscured, hidden by a cloak he pulled close around him. A pair of swords, one an intricate masterpiece and the other a simple old blade, lay slung around his hips. The figure moved with a flow and determination that came naturally only to a seasoned warrior. Ecthgow felt his hands wrap a little more tightly around his spear. This character could mean trouble. Yet, the lightness and grace of his step suggested an Elven heritage…

The cloaked figure stopped a respectable distance away from Ecthgow, holding both his hands out from under his cloak and gesturing that he was not holding a hidden weapon. Ecthgow held his spear at the ready, stepping closer to the stranger.

"State you name, and reason for entering Heimdall," Ecthgow said politely.

"My name is Aust Terinius Fabilsire, the son of Vare Fabilsire." Aust said, bowing deeply and pulling his hood back. Ecthgow smiled, and returned the gesture. Aust was distinguished looking, a grey haired elf with a strong beard and piercing green eyes. His face was strong, pointed, and conveyed a sense of authority.

"I haven't heard of that family," Ecthgow said, nevertheless appearing courteous and affable.

"Few have," Aust said. "That is why I have been journeying, in hopes of heightening my family's name. Our family has little, and I have been adventuring for many years to change that. May I enter? I am quite tired."

Ecthgow looked Aust over, curious about his appearance. An elf from such a meager family would not carry such beautiful weapons, nor would he have the regal and powerful appearance that this elf possessed. Still, he would not deny a fellow elf access for appearing honorable, even if it seemed to conflict with his story.

"Enter, friend," Ecthgow said, sliding his spear into a more relaxed position. "And I must say, if only all our brothers were as adventurous you, then we would have an even greater legacy than our simple village."

"A thousand fold, at least!" Aust replied, stepping past Ecthgow. "Our brothers would be known in every city, in every hamlet!" Aust clapped his hands, rubbing them together in anticipation. Ecthgow failed to notice that the Elf couldn't keep his hands steady, and that the move was merely a ploy to force them still.

Aust walked slowly through Heimdall, as if in a daze, as if he had not been there in an age. Walking forward, the Elf stepped into the Heimdall Inn, placing a small bag of gald on the counter.

"A room, alone, please," Aust said, making sure that the innkeeper understood him.

Aust took the room key, entered, and flopped down on the bed. Aust shuddered violently as his beard retracted back into his face. His incredibly sharp, pointed features lessened, and the points on his teeth rounded off slightly. He tried to take his cloak off, incapable of keeping his hands steady. He fumbled with the brooch for a moment, before finally giving up and relinquishing himself to sleep. Transforming into the Hybrid was difficult, but mimicking just some of its symptoms, such as the grey facial hair, was nigh impossible.

Deadin fell asleep.

**RP #20 - Sekhmet. Posted on 9-7-06 **

After speaking with Kratos and Lloyd regarding returning to the ocean for about a week, Vanim spoke with Mallie and her siblings in regards to going to the ocean. It took awhile for them to understand that Mallie would be watched at all times not just by her but by the entire military that was when the city was over the ocean was traveling with them and that she wouldn't drown while with her. About 2 days later, Mallie and Vanim took a Rheiard to the spot near the ocean, then Vanim dived in and floated waiting for Mallie to dive it as well.  
Several hours later they were about 5 fathoms below the surface, Vanim was telling the young elf about creatures of the deep. As they drove deeper, Vanim keep Mallie close by her side as they approuched the underwater city.  
Mallie was in awe of all the merfolk that was around the merchildren.  
In the palace, Vanim told the king while holding Mallie, so she wouldn't float up while figuring out how to swim in place, as she explained the situation above the ocean. The king looked at the young elf and called for the nanny to take her to his children so she could enjoy herself and learn to swim without help and so he could talk without trying to reframe from laughing.


	20. Magic and Blood

**RP #1 - Lord Yuan. Posted on 9-7-06 **

Merrick stood on the very edge of Exire, as the winds swept by him so quickly his hair would have surely flown off, were it not attached to his head. The sun, it was so bright! He shielded his eyes, and looked down to see there was only ocean below. The rays of light skipped off the waves, and the ocean looked like one big shimmering mirror. He saw land in the distance, fast approaching.

"Exire doesn't keep just one constant speed... interesting." He turned slightly, but an unxpected gust caused some unwanted effects. "Ow! My hair poked me in the eye!" He took a few steps away from the edge of Exire, and began to sing unexpectedly. _"It is not fair that my hair should cause such pain to me..."_ He stopped almost immediately when he realized that he was being a moron.

It was still relatively early, and he hadn't eaten in quite a while. "I'm hungry!" He scanned the Horizon for some sort of flying beast he could skewer and shishkabob, but to no avail.

He sighed, and decided to let someone, anyone, know where he was going. He looked around at some of the others that were already awake. He smiled. They were all one team, fighting a common enemy with a common goal. He knew that if some forest beast got the best of him while he was off hunting, they'd go searching for him.

He noticed Lloyd nearby, so he went to talk to him. "Hey, not like anyone cares, but should someone ask where I am, I'm off hunting, okay?" Before Lloyd could answer, Merrick sprinted towards the edge of Exire and jumped right off. The air felt so good as he fell through the sky! He sighed, sad that all things have to end, and used his wing pack. He flew towards the land on his rheiard.

He landed, and advanced towards a forest, but he didn't know which one. An eggbear lunged towards him. He drew his sword, and, just for fun, used the sword's power. Gravity as Merrick knew it seemed momentarily non-existant in the vicinity, and the eggbear seemed very disoriented. Merrick took advantage of the confusion and slew the bear quickly. He opened his second wing pack (his temporary dwelling had a rheiard stuffed in it since he figured he might need a second Wing Pack) and placed the carcass inside.

He was about to continue hunting, when he saw something unfamiliar in the distance. He had been told about them, but he had never seen one with his own eyes. "A Tarivian?" he wondered. He hid, as he tried to keep an eye on it. Now closer, he saw that it had wings. He knew a quick escape, should he be discovered, would not be possible now. He decided it was best to leave quietly.

As he flew away, he looked behind him at the forest he hadn't had much of a chance to hunt in, and to his shock, he was being followed! "Darn! I can't win on this Rheiard, it's not as manouverable as the Tarivian is!" Merrick had an idea, and tried to fly as high as possible in a short period of time. When the Tarivian had managed to grab on to the back of the Rheiard, he put it back in his wing pack and pulled out his rope.

"Just gotta lassoo this thing!" he said to himself as he fell through the sky. He threw the rope, and the Tarivian dodged, but Merrick yanked his end of the rope and caught the Tarivian around the wings with it. Devoid of flight, the two fell towards the hard ground near the forest. Merrick quickly tried to tie up the Tarivian, but it wasn't quite working, so he shot a fireball in its face and took the second of flinching to hog tie it. About thirty feet from the ground, Merrick hopped on his rheiard again, as the Tarivian crashed into the earth.

"OUCH!" Merrick screamed, as the rheiard couldn't stop his fall quite that fast, and he crashed into the ground. He turned around to see his foe. The Tarivian made a tiny crater, but was still alive. Merrick proceeded to bury it, in hopes of it suffocating.

"Phew..." he said, then, as always, his thoughts turned to Terra. "She can use magic because of the injection, because humans can't use magic. I'm human, why can I use magic? Was I succepted to the same drug, or was I used in some kind of lab? I don't know where I got my powers, and I'm not even amnesiac anymore!" Merrick hung his head.

"I... I don't know what to do anymore. Who, or what, am I?"

He headed back for Exire, to share his food with anyone else as hungry as him.

**RP #2 - Newtype06. Posted on 9-11-06 **

Deadin's awakening was certainly unexpected. Jarred from a nightmare of battles long over, the Elf awoke to a new battle raging all around him. Battle cries in the melodic elvish tongue, mixed with the clang of weapons and the cries of the fallen, the crackle of flames, and the unearthly roar of the Tarivian pulled Deadin from his grogginess and beckoned him outside. A call the Elf was all too eager to answer. The Elf, and his enthusiastic counterpart, The Beast.

Deadin's broadsword leapt into his hands, and, as usual, Excalibur remained steadfast in its scabbard. Not giving the stubborn blade another thought, Deadin pulled his cloak over his face and charged outside.

Unlike Mizuho, a land of stealthy warriors trained by night, Heimdall was a land of nobility and magic. The Tarivian foot soldiers that attacked the village were sorely outmatched. Meteors flew from the heavens, obliterating their lines, chasms opened underneath them, swallowing whole regiments. And one warrior in particular, Deadin noticed, took the fight to the Tarivians with an incredible ferocity and power.

His hair was a light red, running down to his shoulder blades. An intricate plate mail covered his body, complete with elvish runes and leafy inscriptions. The armor seemed to flow with its master, a true testament to the magical and artistic prowess of the elves. The warrior waded into a line of Tarivians, brandishing a curved longsword and a small dagger as a main-gauche. The Tarivian foot soldiers fell by the dozens before the warrior's prowess, and Deadin joined in.

The Grey Elf charged, his broadsword flashing through the Tarivian ranks. He had fought these creatures before, and he knew how they fought. Parry an arm, or block a finger strike, and you had the opportunity to sever an arm, literally disarming your foe. Deadin left a pile of Tarivians in his wake, battling side by side with the warrior. For some reason Deadin could not fathom, though, he felt the Tarivians were holding back. He had been pushed to his limit in Mizuho, almost dying in the battle. Here, he was felling the Tarivians like so many wheat stalks. Deadin put his doubts aside. He was destroying the enemy, that was for certain.

The Tarivians, hemmed in by the powerful swordsmen, tried to flank the warriors and take the fight to another area in the village. In that part, they were successful. However, skilled archers poised on the rooftops decimated their numbers. The river that split Heimdall also proved a disastrous point, bogging the attackers down in the mud, making them easy targets. In all, only fifty of the 500 Tarivians that flanked the village survived to attack from the rear. However, once deeply entrenched in the backside of the village, the Tarivians took up the offensive again, this time flinging torches onto the buildings occupied by the archers. The leafy rooftops burst into flames almost instantly. Many elves perished, unable to escape. However, they emptied their quivers into countless Tarivian hides. The far end of Heimdall would forever be remembered as "Fletcher's Fortress", in memory of the brave defenders.

Exire had been traveling southwest for quite some time now, down towards Latheon Gorge. Terra had been staring absentmindedly into the horizon when something caught her eye. A pillar of smoke trickled out of the forest nearby, its fumes billowing all the way up to Exire's levels. Concerned, Terra ran back to where Lloyd and Kratos were standing, talking about the next course of action.

"There's a fire!" Terra shouted, pointing back towards the fumes. Kratos' eyes widened, and he jogged to the edge of the platform.

"That's Heimdall," Kratos said. "Something's wrong…"

"We should check it out," Lloyd said, stepping up next to Kratos. "They might need our help."

"Agreed," Kratos said. "Get everyone together. We are leaving immediately."

"Right," Lloyd said, running down the platform and grabbing anyone he could find.

"I'll go get ready," Terra said, running off to the northern platform for her sword gear. "I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this…" She disappeared from sight.

"Indeed," Kratos said, lost in thought.

Deadin slaughtered the Tarivians as he never had before. He wasn't even trying hard. They just seemed to walk up to him and die. The red headed warrior next to him was dropping Tarivians at an even faster rate than Deadin. Eventually, the Tarivian vanguard broke off, retreating into the woods. The red haired warrior sheathed his weapons and wiped the sweat off his brow.

"Well met, brother," the red head said. "What name does such a master go by?"

"Aust. Aust Terinius Fabilsire. I have been out of Heimdall for many years." Aust said, sheathing his sword. The Red Elf clasped Aust's hand.

"My name is Gaur."

**RP #3 - Sekhmet. Posted on 9-12-06 **

Three days later, Mallie and Vanim are in the temple practicing magic, when they break off the intense training, Mallie is surrounded by merchildren wanting to play. Mallie looks bewildered but Vanim just nods with a smile. Several days later, Vanim and Mallie began to head up to the surface to return to the others.

**RP #4 - Sekhmet. Posted on 9-12-06 **

Vanim and Mallie waited near the shore for the news of where the floating city was located at the shoreline where they came up stood Purrti waiting patiently.

Purrti: looking at Mallie She any better?

Mallie: Yes, to answer your question... Where is my sister and brother?

Purrti: Still training others while waiting on Deadin. He is still looking for Anna

Mallie: Who is Anna?

Purrti: Another Purrdi like myself except she is half elf. Vanim desides to change the subject

Vanim: Do you know where Deadin went? Where is the flying city now?

Purrti: It should be passing soon, your army is a great help when the Tarvians attacked us here.. and no

At that moment the shadow of the city showed up over the ocean, Meanwhile in an unknown location, Anna sits unable to move or fight, the shadowy figure emerges from the stairs.

: So your the one... growls this should be fun to watch... I will wait for now.

He turns for the time and leaves after making sure that she has food and water. Several days later, the man returns with intent of harm, grinning evilly he advances on Anna who unable to defend herself whines as the man changes form and she cries in pain as he bites her on the upper arm. She become aware the man before her was a werewolf as his form shifts back to elven form and chuckles evilly as he walks away. Anna feels the bite of the werewolf start to change her. She fears what she would do to others, she had seen what Deadin no The Beast did to people. She desides that she if she can will vanish but she must tell Deadin her feeling for him before she leaves.

**RP #5 - Lord Yuan. Posted on 9-13-06 **

Totally oblivious to what was outside and to common safety rules, Merrick was roasting his meal over the fire inside his temporary Exire dwelling. He broke into song. _"Eggbear roasting on an open fire... flame tongues licking at my bed... Oh crap!"_ However, Merrick was too confused wondering about why he sang the 'Oh crap!' to react really quickly, and his sheets caught fire.

He put it out before his bed got badly damaged (there was one large scorch mark though) and then after he had calmed a bit, he heard cries of "Fire, fire!" outside. He groaned.

"You're a little late, Professor Obvious!" he screamed, and ran outside to shut people up. What he saw was fighting on a level he had never before seen. He had seen small skirmishes, but nothing like this. Looking at Heimdall in the distance, there were thick clouds of smoke. The entire village was going up in flames.

Merrick fell to his knees. This was the severity of their dilemma. This was real war. Not some bodyguard job, not acting as both a bouncer and a singer at the same time... this was fighting on a scale he had never fought before. "Damnit, what am I supposed to do! I'm no warrior!" Merrick sighed, and looked at the ground he kneeled on. "I've never considered my own death before. I've never even felt like I might die. But now... I don't know how many enemies I might fight, what they're capable of, or how many allies I'll need to watch out for. This isn't the combat I'm used to..."

But, after a minute, Merrick thought the way he thought a warrior might approach the situation. "I gotta protect my friends. Any number of us might die, and I might be among the ranks. Still, if I can save just one person, it just might be worth it. Damnit, here goes nothing!"

Merrick decided to fly off on his own towards Heimdall, not knowing or bothering to wait and see if they bwere being organized. Only one thought flooded through his mind now. "The more I take down, the less there are left to kill us. That's all I need to know right now."

He held his sword like a lance, but it put a big strain on his arm. After accidentally skewering a bird, he decided just to prop it up on his rheiard's handles. "Now, I can probably kill one outright at this speed. Let's see how many runs I can make through the enemy before I fell off or something..."

He stopped for a minute, took the bird off his blade, and continued flight.

**RP #6 - Sekhmet. Posted on 9-14-06 **

Purrti began to wonder where the creatures came from as they emerged from the group those of the merarmy who could rose from the water to come on land to protect Mallie, Vanim knelt beside Mallie intructing her in what magic to use then did a sweeping arch with her staff taking out the creatures that came near them sending them flying and exploding on impact of the ground. Purrti merely pounced on the creatures and the exploded, the large cat stood there looking confused as the easiness of the battle, thinking something was strange about this, her ears perked when she began to a rheiard overhead.Vanim looked confused as well at the easiness of the battle as well.

**RP #7 - White Rose. Posted on 9-18-06 **

Terra headed up towards her parent's temporary place of dwelling, with her things in hand. Barging in, she startled both Lloyd and Colette who were in the middle of eating some breakfast. "Mom! Dad! Come on, we have to leave now!" She shouted, moving her eyes between the two. Both adults exchanged glances of worry and confusion. Lloyd put down his fork and looked at Terra. "Terra, what is it?" Colette rose from her seat, looking at her daughter. "Terra.. what's--" Terra waved her arms frantically, and pointed outside. "Don't question, just get your things and come on! It's Heimdall! They need help!" Lloyd nearly choked and rose from his seat coughing loudly. He cleared his throat, and looked at Terra wide-eyed. "Heimdall! What the hell!" Terra nods. "There was smoke coming from that way, and then a big flame spirled up into the sky!" Colette's eyes began to well up. "No... They don't stand a chance against those monsters! Come Lloyd, lets hurry!" He nods and scarfs down the rest of his food in mere seconds, then guzzles his juice. "Gotcha!" He shouts instantly running to gather his swords. Strapping them to his sides he bolts out the door followed closely behind by Colette and Terra.

They head towards the others waiting at the edge of the cliff. "Terra, stay here. It's too dangerous for you down there." Lloyd says, bringing a Wing pack out from his pocket. Terra grabs his arm just before he throws it. "No." Lloyd's eyes narrow with anger. "Yes." Terra shakes her head. "N-O. No." Lloyd's lips furl. "That's an order young lady. And get off my arm." Terra looks at Lloyd with the same expression. "Not until you let me go with you all." Colette smiles... a little worriedly. "Umm... we don't have time for this..." Lloyd glances at her, and nods. He then looks back at Terra. "You're staying here. I'm not risking you getting hurt like last time." Terra clinches her teeth. "I'm a big girl dad! I can take care of myself!" Lloyd's fists tighten. His daughter could be so damn stubborn sometimes. And unfortunately, it ran in her blood. "I'm going. You can't stop me." Terra said. Her tone raising slightly with each word. Lloyd quickly broke away from Terra and turned to her. "I said you're not going. Now get back in the house!" He practically shouted. Terra tightened her fists... she was about to blow. And so was Lloyd.

Sensing the upcoming war of words, Colette gets inbetween the two. "Stop. Both of you." She said, too sweet to ever yell. She looks at Terra. "Terra, you know your father just wants you safe." She looks Terra over. "You're still in training." She sighs and drops her head slightly... "I hate to say it, but you'd only be making us worry about you." Terra growls and glances over everyone getting ready to leave. Some were already taking off and heading towards Heimdall. Genis and Presea were among the first to leave, leading a small group towards the battle.

Raine had asked to be left behind for a little bit... she had been sensing something odd for quite a while aboard Exire... She looked at Kratos, who in turn, moved his eyes to the Professor. Just as quickly, he moved them back to Terra. Somehow... that small action was suspicion enough to intrigue Raine. She began to walk over to Terra, brushing past Kratos, moving her eyes to him again. He moved them to her sight, and narrowed them. _'Damn. She's on to her... I know it...'_ Kratos thought, as the Professor continued to look over him, trying to devulge any piece of information she could from him. His mouth opened slightly and he almost spoke... stopping short of the first word. _'I suppose she knows, being of elven blood...'_ He thought again, sighing. She finally took her eyes off of him and went right over to the other Irvings, stopping in front of Colette.

Some more people left for the battle, and the rest who remained for the time being were becoming more anxious with each second. Sheena tugged at Zelos' vest to release their Rheaird, as they stood at the edge. He silenced her. Something about how Raine was acting was getting to him. _'She can't know about Terra... can she?'_ He thought... his face filled with concern for Terra... _'Dammit... it's too soon!'_ He thought again. Sheena felt him tense up, and relaxed her own grip. Then she looked at him, then at Raine... then finally at Terra. She knew that instant what he was thinking, and it bothered her just as much as it bothered him. She put her head up to his ear. "The longer we stay behind Zelos... the more suspicious Raine's going to get. You know how perceptive she is. Give her a reason, and she'll find a million more behind it..." The summoner whispered softly, trying hard to keep her tone as quiet as possible... He moved his eyes to hers, and nodded slightly, releasing the Rheaird.

Two other sets of ears heard every word... Colette gave a perplexed glance over towards Sheena, who exchanged it quickly. Kratos tilted his head... turning it just a little and catching Sheena in the corner of his eye. Zelos saw the action and immediately got on the Rheaird, lightly nudging Sheena on in front of him. She got on, and he cracked a smile, bringing out his Last Fencer. "Let's go babe! Onward! To Heimdall!" He said, pointing it it's direction. Sheena sighed and rolled her eyes, being reminded of a similar moment. Even something as cheesy as that line would do to help take some tension out of the air. "Hey now, hurry it up alright guys? If you don't, me and my hunny'll just have to mop the floor down there with some Tarivian ass." Sheena smacked him lightly, blushing slightly, and smirked. "Whatever... Later guys." With a quick wave and Sheena at the controls, the two took off.

Lloyd looked at the two, until they disappeared in some clouds. He looked back at Terra afterwards. "You're not going. And that's final." He barked with a serious tone to his voice. Terra got in his face, but then backed away some, still holding her position. "It's not me at all... is it?" Lloyd shot her a look of anger. "House! Now!" He yelled. Kratos stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Enough." He said, tightning his grip on the shoulder. Lloyd winced a little at the minor pain. Raine smacked Lloyd on his head. "Agreed." Lloyd shot them both death glances, but cowered some when they shot them back. "Raine and I will look after her. Just go on." Terra gasped, quickly glancing at her grandfather. "Hey! No way! I'm not staying up here, while they have all the fun! That's not fair!" She shouted. He pulled Terra away from Lloyd. "That's enough." He said with a sigh. "I never said we were staying here." Terra jumped a little and smiled. "Really! I can go!" He nods, and Lloyd shakes his head. "You can't do that. She's my daughter, dad." Kratos eyes his son. "You don't trust me?" Lloyd's eyes widen and he quickly shakes his head again. "No! I... I didn't say that!" Kratos' grip gets tighter, causing Lloyd to yelp a little. "Then don't question me. I said we'll look after her." Lloyd sighs, shrugs and finally nods, giving in. Colette closes her eyes and smiles, opening them a moment later. "Come on Lloyd..." She says, kissing him on the cheek. "Terra will be fine." Lloyd blushes, and takes a Wingpack out from his pocket, releasing it. They soon get on, with Colette at the wheel. The swordsman looks at his daughter. "You do what they say. And don't go trying to be a hero, got it?" Terra is silent. She crosses her arms and looks away. Raine looks at Colette. "Go on Colette. We'll be right behind you." She nods, and soon they also set out.

By now, everyone except for Kratos, Raine and Terra had left Exire... Terra stood, with her eyes to the ground... "Even my parents think I'm no good... Dad doesn't even trust me..." The two turn their attention to the clearly distraught teenager. "I don't think it was that at all Terra..." Raine said, reaching a hand out towards her shoulder. Terra smacked it way gently. "I don't need your sympathy professor..." Raine raised an eyebrow, and sighs. "I see..." Kratos crossed his arms. "You said something that got to him..." Terra looks at Kratos. "What are you talking about? He loses his cool at everything..." Her fists ball tightly together. "Just let it go Terra. If you don't, you won't have a clear state of mind during battle." Raine nods. Yes, he's right. And anyway, your father doesn't mean to hurt you Terra. He's only trying to protect you...Although he could've chosen a different approach..." Terra's lips furl in a sad grin. "Protect me!" She chuckles a bit. "From what! Himself!" Kratos sighs. "We don't have time for this. If you want to go, I suggest we get a move on..." Terra sighs angerily, and relaxes. She straps the sheethed Flameburg to her side and takes out a Wingpack. "...Whatever. Fine. Let's go already." The Rheaird appears moments later, and Terra almost gets on it, when Kratos stops her. She looks at him. "What is it now?" He pauses for a moment, and looks out over the horizon. "Do you wish to go flying with me instead?"

In an instant, Terra forgets why she was ever angry, and looks at Kratos with eyes as wide as bug. "What? You serious!" Kratos flashes a small grin, and nods. "I am." He looks at Raine. "You don't mind riding alone... do you?" Raine smiles at the two. "No. It's fine. Go on." She walks over to the Rheaird and gets on it. "Let's hurry. I'm sure the others are nearly there by now. And they could probably use me..." Kratos nods, and places both hands on Terra's shoulders. "Ready?" Terra swallows and peers over the edge... she tenses up some, but relaxes soon after. "Yeah." Kratos closes his eyes, and in a short period after, his body is surrounded by angelic crystal blue feathers. Soon, his magestic icy blue wings appear flapping gently behind him. Picking Terra up, he hovers for a moment as Raine starts up the Rheaird and lifts off. The three take off, leaving the floating abandoned city behind them... Kratos still pondering Raine's action to stay behind... He determined that it wasn't just to comfort Terra.

After a good 15 minute flight, the three spot Vanim's army of Merfolk, Merlin, the elven siblings Mallee, Tesory and Nuis, and some of the soliders of the army atop Exire strune along the beach, fighting what was left of the Tarivians there... It looked like things were being taken care of quite well, and so the trio docked near the entrance to Ymir forest. They raced as fast as possible through the rope bridge mazes, and past the giant tress until they finally reached the elven village of Heimdall.

...The scene was one they had not expected, and Kratos gasped as he entered.

Elves... Tarivians of all kinds... they lay broken and bloody, in heaps along the ground. A good portion of the elven army was still left and seemed to have finally gained the upper hand in battle, but the Tarivians were not giving up as easy as the elves had wanted.

...And at the center of the elven army, was the elder himself. As elegant and magestic in appearance as always, he stood proudly atop the roof of his own hut, issuing commands to his people, with his four body guards surrounding him, holding any attackers at bay. Towards the inn and meadow, he saw Genis and Presea fighting right along side the elves. Genis was busy casting spell after spell, and Presea was doing what she did best... mowing the crap out of anything standing in her way with her Diablos, and holding her own quite well. At the stream that ran along the left side of the village, Sheena and Zelos were mixing things up together against the Tarvians. They had at least five of them smoldering at their feet, and were holding off attacks by another group of three, using all the moves they ever knew, and plenty of combo attacks. About 30 elves were around the former tethe'allan chosen and the Emissonary of Peace, helping in any way they could. Some fought with pikes, swords, and magic, while snipers hit the aliens from the trees with bows and arrows.

Kratos nodded to Raine, the three drew their weapons... He glanced at Terra right after. "You don't have a shield. Stay in between me and Raine until I can get you one." Terra nodded. "Right." Raine looks around. "This situation's outcome is hard to predict... it could go either way." Terra cracks her knuckles and smiles slyly. "Not if we have anything to say about it." She falls into a thought. _'I'll show everyone here... I'll show my parents I'm not a burden..._' She snaps out of it when Raine chuckles, and begins to charge up her staff... "Field Barrier!" She shouts... minutes later, a solid field of Mana surrounds all allies nearby, raising their defense. "I've given us a defensive boost to start things off with. Let's go Kratos." He nods. "Indeed." He says, immediately running for the nearest Tavarian with his sword ready, followed by Terra and Raine. As he ran, he also dived into a thought. _'I hope you've been paying attention to your lessons Terra... I won't let you die.'_ The thought ended as he plowed right though his first victim with a well placed combo, ending with his signature Super Lightning Blade manuver. The beast fell to its knees and was instantly split with a Fierce Demon Fang. And just as quick, another Tarivian took it's place, causing Kratos to jump out of the way. The monster extended its claws and with precision, swung each of them fierociously at the angelic human. He put up his shield, batting one hand out of the way, then put up his sword, blocking the other arm. The Tarivian countered again... this time with its own head. It rammed straight into Kratos, and caused him to fall to the ground. Terra went to his side, swiping the Flameburg at the monster. She cut it and it backed off, with blood oozing from it's skull. The angel sprung to his feet and began a spell cast. Terra watched with awe moment later as a well timed Grave penetrated right through the beast's gut, instantly killing it. They both backed away, as a group of two more set their sights on the humans. Kratos waved Terra away, and she backed away more, and giving him the room he needed. He immediately went to work on the other two as the women stood further behind him, looking around...

And yet another duo of two jumped out of the trees, with arrows already plunged deep into their backs. Snipers had shot them, but it wasn't enough. Raine instantly took action and blasted one with a destructive Photon attack while the other jumped out of the way, confused. Terra ran up to the first weakened beast, plunging her Flameburg right into the monsters head. It screamed in absolute agony and coughed up blood before it collapsed and died. The other monster approached the young girl from behind. Swiping it's claws at her back, Terra spun around, instantly blocking the claws, shattering one on impact. The monster shook out its and seemed rather stunned. Raine charged up, and hit the beast with another Photon... Terra stuck her sword into the monster's skinny chest, impaling it's body on the sword. In a last ditch effort, the monster made a forward strike with its claws. Terra let go of the sword and ducked as Raine came up and whacked the creature over the head with her staff in a three hit combo. Dazed and confused, the two teamed up. Terra grabbed the Flameburg and pulled it out of the creature which screamed in pain and kneeled. She dodged another weaker strike, and Raine fired a third Photon. The monster dropped to it's stomach and died in a pool of it's own blood... She soon gave them an attack boost with Sharpness, and healed up Kratos with a First Aid technique. These things were everywhere...

It was going to be a messy fight.

**RP #8 - Lord Yuan. Posted on 9-18-06 **

Merrick ran like a little kid away from the Tarivians as elves slew them from behind. "I'm-too-young-to-die!" he screamed as he fled, not noticing that there were so few left behind him. He finally had the courage to draw his sword, again only to see that only elves stood behind him. "Oh... sorry, thanks guys, so, where am I needed now?" They all gave him a disgusted look of disbelief a,d one even told him off about it.

"How is running away helping? You worthless coward?"

"Meh." Merrick shrugged, "I just got a bit overwhelmed, I've never seen a battle like this before. I'm a bard, I don't take to the frontlines well." The elves took an interest to the fact that he was used to inspiring allies. Within a minute, they asked him to sing for them as they fought.

Before he could start, however, a Tarivian knocked him to the ground. Grabbing the first rock he saw, Merrick sang _"I'll rock you like a hurricane!"_ and threw it, hitting it in the back of the head and royally ticking it off.

Merrick suddenly felt really empowered by his own music, so decided to sing a song about battle anf follow his motions. _"Those thingies are mean, those thingies are fierce, I fancy for one of those thingies to pierce!"_ he started, as he let loose a lunging thrust, _"and I'll slash it and bash it and grind it to dust!"_ he continued, as he took a swing at it, smacked it with the flat end of his sword, and knocked it against a wall repeatedly, _"and even resort to magic if I must. Fire-ball! da na na na na na na, Fire-ball!"_ Merrick was now singing the names of his spells, which made the elves fighting nearby start to laugh and feel a little more cheerful about the fight. _"And when all the fighting I can do has been done, and outnumbered I am a hundred to one, I bravely turn my head the other way and decide that it's time to RUUUUN!"_ once again, he was being chased by more than he could handle and was being covered by elves slaying his persuers from behind.

**RP #9 - Newtype06. Posted on 9-18-06 **

For the longest time, Aust and Gaur stood there, hands clasped. Aust's eyes burned a hole straight through Gaur's forehead. "Heh, it seems the frenzy of battle hasn't left you yet, friend. Your hands are shaking," Gaur said. Deadin pried his fingers off Gaur's hand, sliding them under his cloak. "Come, there is much to do still!" Gaur shouted, taking off down the village streets. Aust noticed that Gaur walked with a small limp to his left.

"Indeed, Gaur, there is much to do…" Aust said, following Gaur, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

_170 Years Ago… _

_Night. _

_The first of_ those _nights… _

_Deadin stumbled through the endless maze of Ymir Forest. He knew that Niten and Kratos would be laughing at him now if they saw him. Putting his mentors' disapproval aside, the Elf stopped and tried to get his bearings. Little did he know he was being watched… _

_The attack came like lightning. Deadin never had a chance. The Red Wolf darted through the underbrush, tackling the Elf before he could bring a weapon to bear. Vicious fangs tore into Deadin's right shoulder, and long claws scraped through his jerkin and tore at his body. Deadin worked to get a hand up to the creature's throat, keeping it at bay. _

_Pulling his knee up to his chest, Deadin kicked the creature off him and rolled to his feet. Much to Deadin's surprise, the beast neither landed on four paws nor in a heap, as he had hoped. Indeed, the creature landed on_ two _legs! His broadsword found his hands. Deadin realized his right arm was useless, and slid the blade onto his left hand and attacked. _

"_I am Deadin Woodshadow!" He shouted, slashing away at the creature. "I am the Son of Falin Woodshadow! I am student to Niten, the Grand Master, and Kratos! You will not beat me!" Deadin traced a thing red line down the Red Wolf's chest, continuing the momentum and spinning around. _

_Keeping his spin going, the Elf crouched and smashed his sword into the creature's knee, permanently hobbling it. It howled in pain, just in time for Deadin to stab it in the stomach. The creature disengaged, limping away and clutching its stomach. _

No mindless beast could survive that,_ Deadin thought. It was the last thing that registered in his mind before the tingling pain in his shoulder pulled him into darkness._

For almost two hours, Aust followed Gaur through the streets of Heimdall. It was an odd reunion for Aust. He walked the streets of his youth again, once again standing side beside with his kin. Elvish warriors danced through the Tarivian lines, creating a swath of terrible destruction. Aust and Gaur joined in, and the bloodshed was quick. The Elvish forces decimated the remaining Tarivians. In a matter of hours, Heimdall was quiet.

The Battle for Heimdall was over.

Gaur and Aust made their way to the Elvish Elder, who was congratulating the large crowd that had formed around him. Elves and adventurers alike listened to the old Elf's words of wisdom and congratulations. He stood in the square, the most open area in the village. The Elvish women and children, who had been barricaded in their homes, came out to congratulate the weary warriors. Once again, Aust felt that he recognized some of the soldiers in the crowd, but he quickly dismissed the notion. Aust pulled his cloak closer, keeping his face hidden. If anyone could recognize him, it would be the Elder.

Aust and Gaur stopped and listened to the Elder for a moment. Gaur then slipped off into the crowd, and Aust couldn't help but follow. Keeping his hood down, the Elf followed his quarry through the crowd, coming to a halt somewhere. Aust kept his face hidden, and let his ears see for him.

"Did you hear of my bravery, my dear?"

"I'm sure you were as flashy as ever, Gaur…" A female voice said. It carried a sharp sarcasm that Aust smiled at.

"I did it all for you, my sweet…"

"It's a shame that's all you do for me, Gaur…"

"You tease! Some day you will see my greatness."

"Nothing you can do will change my mind, Guar…"

"Mark my words. Someday you will, Lia."

Aust couldn't believe his ears. He pulled back his hood, just to be sure. It was impossible. She couldn't be here.

Yet here she was.

Lia Woodshadow, her beauty preserved through the years. Her golden had not lost its luster, her green eyes their smile. She had grown into an elegant and strong woman. Aust smiled to himself. She was giving Gaur a hard time. It seemed that his sister's rebelliousness and headstrong nature had not been dulled over the last century and a half.

Suddenly, a name came out from the Elder, a name that immediately made Aust pull his hood over again.

"Gaur Culdol, the Red Flame! Our Champion!"

Aust felt his jaw drop as Gaur strode to the center of the crowd, waving and smiling. He walked up to the Elder, shaking hands with the aged Elf.

"So Gaur, how many of the creatures did you slay today?"

"Fifty, at the least!" Gaur shouted, and the crowd went wild. Elven warriors thrusted their bows and blades into the air with every word Gaur said. He quieted them down, quickly. "That is not the true prize, today! We have captured the creatures' leader!" Another roar of approval from the crowd. Aust felt his hairs start to stand on end. Something was wrong…

"Bring forth the creature!" Gaur shouted, pointing to the side.

Aust felt his teeth clench and his hand tighten around his sword hilt as a pair of Elves produced Anna, bruised and broken, and dragged her to Gaur's feet. Elsewhere in the crowd, Kratos stood with Terra. Kratos' hand also drifted to his sword, but then he noticed someone in the crowd. His hand relaxed, and he whispered something to Terra. Terra in turn whispered it to Merrick, who stood next to her. Merrick carried the message onto the rest of the members of the Army from Exire who stood nearby.

"Congratulations, Gaur," the Elder said, patting him on the back. "You have done well." Gaur looked at the Elder, smiling charismatically. "Today's victory is not just mine. It should be shared by all!" More cheering. "But you must meet this warrior that almost matched my own standard. He cleaved through the beasts like they were nothing. Come, Aust!"

Gaur beckoned the hooded figure up to the center of the crowd. Aust stepped forward, trying to calculate his next move.

Then, Aust saw it. He saw the malicious design. Every moment of his life, since that fateful day one hundred and seventy years ago, had been carefully planned and executed by Gaur.

Pulling back his hood and drawing his sword in one motion, Aust stepped up to the Elder and Gaur.

"I am Deadin Woodshadow, Son of Falin Woodshadow, Prince of the Twelfth Family of the Elven Lineage, Student to Niten, Grand Master, and Kratos Aurion. I come for Gaur Culdol, and no force on this earth can stop me!"

**RP #10 - AngelicAura. Posted on 9-18-06 **

_Aaron sighed, and sat up in his bed. There was an odd silence about, even for Exire. He rolled out of bed, and walked to the window. Staring through the window (which needed to be cleaned, Aaron noted) and saw nothing but a bird floating above in the sky._

"That's...queer. What's going on?" _Aaron asked. _

_Walking out of his bedroom, through the make-shift living room, and opened the front door. As he stepped through, he still saw nobody. Even though he saw nobody, he thought he had a clue now. He stared off on the edge of Exire, seeing smoke rising from a forest below._

"They go off somewhere and light the village on fire? I bet that was Merrick being stupid, or Terra being clumsy! " _Aaron raged._ "And they didn't even wake me up! I'm going to have Deadin's head- Okay, maybe not Deadin's head... But somebody that I can beat's head!"

_Aaron grabbed Aer and Unda from their mounts, which were on opposiite sides of each other to avoid the devastating side effects of them touching, in the living room, and ran out in front of his "house." Pulling the Rheiad from the wingpack, he mounted and flew off. He pulled a nosedive to reach the souce of the smoke in the least amount of time as possible. It took a mere five minutes by being powered by Aaron's wind spells. He could see the city of Heimdall a mere 10 feet below._

"Heimdall? This is the place that wouldn't allow Genis and Raine to enter back when they were journeying to save the world! Why should I help them?" _Aaron said, dismounting from the Rheiard and packing it back into the wing pack. _

_Zelos, who was standing nearby, replied,_ "They apologized, by the way."

"What? Apologized? Who apologized?" _Aaron questioned._

"Interesting. Are you having short-term memory problems today, or not listening to what you're saying? The people of Heimdall apologized for maltreating Genis and Raine."

"Oh...they didn't tell me that."

"Maybe you weren't listening! Anyway, you're late."

"Late for what? To see Terra knock over a flaming kettle and light the village on fire? This place is a disaster!"

"Tarivians attacked here. The entire army that you assembled was here, except you of course."

"Get off my case! I've been exhausted lately. Something's awry, even with the condition of the world. Something isn't right."

"And you, being the _genius_ that you are, can tell this?"

"Hey, I'm a half-elf! We're different from you-"

"That's the first time I've ever heard that statement. Normally it's the opposite. Anyway, continue." Zelos interrupted.

"I was _saying_ that we can tell when something's not normal. When a person's fate has changed. When something that isn't supposed to happen is going to happen; When something is wrong." Aaron said.

"Well, there's plenty wrong here. Aliens are attacking, these things called Archangels have awoken to wreak havoc on the world, and for some reason, you're getting these vibes of your's. Nobody is acting normal, come to think of it. Terra is out to prove something, Sheena is doubtful of herself, Lloyd fears for his daughter's life, Colette isn't all that innocent, Kratos has lost his normal barrier between others and himself, and to top it all off, the world is falling apart AGAIN! I didn't work my butt off the first time just to have to do it again in twenty years!" Zelos shouted, seeming as if it were one breath.

_Aaron simply stared in the amazement that Zelos got all that out._

"You uphold your title of Loudmouth, don't you? But, I swear, I can tell when something is going differently than it should. Something is not right here!" _Aaron retorted._

"Whatever. Be insane. I don't care. Not like I can tell you not to be."

_But before Aaron could make the last word in the arguement, Zelos walked away. But, Aaron was right. Something was awry. Although, he didn't know how soon this oddness would reveal itself. _

_The feeling was getting stronger, stinging his head. He decided it was time to practice sword-fighting. He had to find Deadin. He began to search the crowd._


	21. Rage of the Shadow Wolf

**RP #11 - Sekhmet. Posted on 9-19-06 **

From the area outside of the village, Vanim, Mallie and Purrti approuch the village. Purrti growls then takes off toward the village without an explaination, at the the gate of the village. There could be heard a loud roar, Anna almost too weak with everything, lifted her head and let out a pitiful call for help back, slowly turned to look at Deadin spoke in clear elven though a different dilect through the muzzle confining her "xxizz uns'aa..." (translation from drow: Help me...) then passed out from the pain within her.  
Meanwhile, Vanim and Mallie continued on toward the village with part of the merarmy with them. Mallie going on about her brother would be so proud of her. Vanim nodded and hoped they would get to the village in time.  
The large feline heard Anna's call for help. roaring, she took off toward where Anna was, a very large angry female panther. But seeing Deadin then at Gaur, stopped growled, her yellow eyes nearly red with anger, as the elven warrior came forward, she leaped up to the roof and let out a loud roar, realizing that most only seen Anna in her weakened state. Purrti looked like a beast but was thinking of her next move out of reach of the weapons also hoping spells wouldn't be used.

Zelos: Purrti! Get out now! We will take care of her.

Purrti: mostly feline but understandable to human She is in danger... something has changed her. I can smell the change. looks at Gaur She has his smell pointing a paw toward Gaur, growls with hate. different the Deadin's but the same creature... l' Fuer'yon. (Translation from drow: The Beast) Though one thing that will be different about changing a Purrdi, staring directly at Gaur is the feline blood will fight, she will not change like you expect, beast in elven form her eyes glowing in rage as she glares at Gaur. Her feline half will flee to protect those she cares for and looks at Deadin I will not say more for she will say it herself. I will await without With a loud earth shaking heartbroken roar, she departs, violently scattering the straw of the roofs as she vanished over the roof tops while she exited out of the city, avoiding the elven warriors that followed her.

**RP #12 - Newtype06. Posted on 9-19-06 **

Deadin's hands shook with rage. The Beast still held sway over parts of Deadin's mind, but now it realized that Deadin was truly in control. The Beast sat back, awaiting its moment for glory and power.

"What did you do to her!" Deadin raged, broadsword in both hands.

"She is an enemy, Deadin!" Gaur sneered, his curved longsword and dagger sliding out of their sheaths. "Just like you are an enemy, Tainted One!"

Gaur charged, slashing powerfully with his longsword. His left hand lay coiled, the dagger at the ready to strike when an opening appeared. Deadin parried quick thrusts, trusting on his instincts honed from centuries of conflict. Gaur, it seemed had spent some time practicing as well.

Gaur brought his sword over his head, spun, and brought it down towards Deadin. The Elf caught it with his own blade, the two swords interlocking at the hilts. Gaur lashed out with his dagger, but Deadin twisted himself out of the way and grabbed Gaur's wrist as it flashed by. Locked in a deadly embrace, Gaur and Deadin eyed each other in hatred. Deadin looked out, into the crowd, and Gaur followed his glance.

Standing there, petrified in fear and disbelief, Lia Woodshadow watched the deadly duel, a single tear running down her face.

"You lost, Gaur," Deadin grunted. "She'll never be yours now. No matter how many battles you win, no matter how many lives you ruin, you will never ruin hers!"

"If she will not give herself to me, then I will be forced to take her!" Gaur whispered, pushing Deadin back and unhooking the swords. Some of the crowd gasped, and Lia's teeth gritted in determination. She turned, and ran off, out of Deadin's vision.

Gaur charged again, his red mane flowing behind him. Feinting and disengaging with his longsword, Gaur probed and tested Deadin's defenses with his dagger. Deadin retreated effortlessly, backing out of Gaur's range and carefully circling around him. The crowd seemed very interested in the outcome of the fight, gasping and crying out when the swordsmen came close to finishing each other. However, neither Elf managed to land a blow.

"Perhaps I should refresh their memory, Deadin," Gaur smiled, backing off and motioning to the crowd. "I give you…Deadin Woodshadow! The Ymirian Shadow Wolf! The murderer of Niten, his own master!" The crowd began their usual rumblings, and after a few moments some of the older Elves had a moment of realization.

"No…" Deadin pleaded. He could feel the crowd slipping. "That wasn't…I…"

_170 Years Ago… _

"_Help…me…" It said, walking resolutely up to the dark haired Elf. "Help…me…" it said again, reaching out with a scraggly grey claw. The Elf backed up, terrified at what he saw. It had been a friend, but now…. _

_It all started with a simple walk to the field Deadin and Lia had spent so much time at. The night sky touched the lone tree, and Deadin had relaxed there. His moment of peace was shattered when a howl pierced through the night. _

_Deadin felt his hand curl around his broadsword. Niten was a mentor, a friend, and trusted companion. But now, he was something totally different. Niten had been bitten. By who, Deadin did not know. But even now, the former sword master approached Deadin, lost in his beastly form. He stood seven feet tall, black fur touched with portions of grey. He twitched involuntarily, fighting the Beast that plagued his old mind. _

"_Deadin…" Niten moaned, falling to his knees at Deadin's feet. "Kill…me…" _

_Deadin felt his sword fall from his grasp. He, too, fell to his knees. His master, a man who had been like a father to him, was asking him to kill him. Niten, the Grand Master, was asking Deadin to end his suffering. _

"_I can't…" Deadin cried, feeling the rain beginning to fall on his shoulders. _

_For a brief moment, the wise old Elf Niten once was resurfaced, supplanting the ravenous creature he had been. He looked up at Deadin, saying "Though you give up your life…" _

_Deadin stood, feeling his sword once again in his hand. "…do not give up your honour." Deadin finished. The rain was pouring down now, and it pinged off Deadin's blade as he raised it up into the sky. _

_Niten smiled a wolfish smile, and bowed his head. "While on the Way, do not begrudge death…" _

_Deadin's sword began its downward descent… _

"_And never depart from the Way of the Sword." _

Deadin roared, pressing the offensive. He dipped, stabbed, spun, and flung his body like he never had before. His sword rang through the air, bashing Gaur's weapons around. The Red Elf could only get out of the way before the rampage that was Deadin. A quick three strike combo left Gaur without his dagger, and one mighty smash later sent Gaur's sword flying aside. Gaur stood, powerless under Deadin's blade.

"You lose," Deadin said. "Die, now…"

"Really, Woodshadow?" Gaur said offhandedly. "Let's say I up the ante!"

Gaur backed up, a red beard growing on his face. His armor expanded, changing to accommodate a body that was larger than normal. Gaur's eyes turned feral, and his hands elongated into ferocious claws. The crowd took off in terror, leaving only Kratos, Terra, and the rest of the Army from Exire.

The Hybrid stood there, its snout pointed and snarling. It towered over Deadin, and even the Beast felt some sense of doubt when looking upon this creature. It stepped forward, eyes lost in a ferocious bloodlust.

The Red Wolf had returned.

**RP #13 - Sekhmet. Posted on 9-19-06 **

Vanim stood beside the entrance, keeping Mallie behind her as Purrti leaped over the wall causing a shower of straw and several elven warriors came face to face with Vanim and then turned to see the merarmy.

Warrior: The beast...

Vanim: That large cat is not a beast. She is my companion and friend. She is upset about their friend and mine. Now, stand aside that we may enter.

The elven warrior startled by the ocean elf as she pushed them aside then walked in with Mallie intow, as she came to the area, she saw Anna quickly being taken back down to the house by Guar's minions. She saw Deadin and Gaur fighing and the choas ensue as Guar shifted forms. Mallie eyes widened as she and Vanim went to go look for the others from Exire and to see if she could find in the pulsating crowd, Mallie's brother and sister, who would be still watching the fight.

Meanwhile within Anna, the feline aspect and the werewolf aspect fought. The pain was intence within her but she was out of it, not caring what was going on around her. The werewolf had overcome the elven half of her and changed it but it was a full scale war with the feline part. It wasn't sure why it wouldn't give up but it was slowly losing to the feline that was not meek like it had thought, it was dominate and powerful, it realized it would have to compromise with this part not try to overpower it...

**RP #14 - Lord Yuan. Posted on 9-19-06 **

"Oh... CRAP!" Merrick almost screamed as he saw the changes in Gaur. Drawing his sword immediately, he took up a defensive stance should they be attacked. He lowered his head. "Deadin, I never knew. Under what conditions did Niten die at your hands, and why did you kill him? You're still one of us, though, and nothing changes that. I've killed someone close to me as well." he looked back up, and was tempted to join the fray, but decided against it.

He then did something unexpected with such a fearsome foe near. He sheathed his sword. He had a grim look upon his face as he said to no one in particular. "This is his fight. I won't interfere unless it's the only way to save his life." Terra tore her eyes from the fight and gave him a weird look, so he told her, "That beast and him obviously have some kind of history together, possibly related to his master's death. Deadin won't..."

"Be able to move on until he conquers his past?" Kratos asked. "One might call it accepting the past. However, I must admit that I felt a certain sense of fulfillment when I struck down Kvar, who had ruined my life." Merrick nodded.

"I know... I still have unfinished business with someone as well." Merrick replied, as he made up his mind. After this issue with the Tarivians was over and once peace was restored, he would find his sister and her companion, and make them pay for what they did to his family... and the emotional torture he went through.

**RP #15 - AngelicAura. Posted on 9-19-06 **

_Aaron barely took a minute to find Deadin. A large fight had broken out in the middle of the village. Of course, Deadin was the instigator. Or...was he?_

"Deadin's in trouble!" _Aaron whispered strongly. _

_Reverting to his instincts and abilities, he whispered again_ "I should help him..." _He unsheathed Unda, and began to chant the words to a spell. Aaron saw that nobody was doing anything as he was chanting, though. Somebody nearby smacked him upside the head. He turned around, and Kratos was behind him._

"Can't you see this is a personal affair? Interfering could endanger many people. Leave it to these two!" _Kratos chided._

"But...Deadin can't get hurt! We can't lose him!" _Aaron argued._

"I-said-don't-interfere. Is that clear?" _Kratos snapped. _

_Aaron loathed. He was beginning to feel rather useless in the current situation. He was slowly slipping into the shadows, into obscurity. If only he could do something. But there was clearly nothing that could be done. Not without endangering other souls. _

_But then what is war? When we entered war, We endangered many, many lives. So, we are already risking lives. Why doesn't Kratos understand that? Lives must be risked. I thought he was apathetic to anything that stood in the way of winning. What was happening to him, then, for he's not showing that feature, Aaron thought._

**RP #16 - White Rose. Posted on 9-19-06 **

Terra stood with full attetion, as she watched the intense personal battle between Gaur and Deadin... She and the others heard the foul cries of the Ymirian wolves and they looked at one another... one trying to intimidate and dominate the other. The pure lust of blood tasted sweet upon their lips, and hatred ran through their eyes, chilling anyone to the bone that dared look upon them. As scared as she was, she told herself not to look away... remembering the teachings of both Deadin and Kratos.

They moved again... This time Gaur lashing out, causing Deadin to back away and block a blow from his enemy's sword. Terra flinched and closed her eyes... something she had done since the battle started when things weren't turning in Deadin's favor. Her body grew tense... this was not only her teacher on the line... but also her friend. A lonely soul she met wondering the forest outside of the crash site. One who had vowed to protect her, in return for her kindness towards him.

Kratos watched alongside Terra, her parents, the Sages, the Bryants, Sheena and Zelos, Merlin, Aaron, Kyoshi, Yuan, Ellryia, and the rest of the Exirian army. His eyes narrowed in pain as he bared witness to the dual between his long-time friend and his opponent. It brought back scornful and bitter memories of his past... Memories of his fights with his son, memories of his spats with Mithos Yggdrasil, and all the pain he felt for the last 4,000 years as he helped out his lost half-elven student with his twisted and cruel plan to mold the once seperate worlds into his own... This fight between Deadin and Gaur was deeply personal. And it only made Kratos wish that he had the backbone long ago to put up his own personal fight against Mithos for all that he had done...

The ancient swordman tensed up, tightning his fists... What if Gaur claimed victory today? Kratos would lose one of his oldest and dearest friends...

The growls of the beasts became louder and more fierce. Both combatants howled in agony as teeth and metal sank into flesh and bone. It would only be a matter of time before one of the mighty warriors dropped...

Hands grasping both shoulders startled the angelic human and he snapped out of his thoughts... Looking to his left, he spotted his granddaughter, Terra. She looked at him with a warm smile, and some tears. "Deadin'll win this. He won't let that jerk take victory from him..." Kratos sighed and looked to his right. Father and son exchanged glances, and Lloyd nodded to his dad. "Don't worry dad. Deadin's too good of a warrior to lose."

A heavy weight seemed to be lifted off of Kratos' chest and he sighed, returning his attention to the battle. But only for a moment... the old warrior began to glance at his closest companions...

Regal Bryant stood firm, unflinching... his eyes following every fluent movement of the two beasts. His adopted son, whom he had heard of from Lloyd, was named Raiden. Though they looked nothing alike in appearance, it was clear that the young man idolized his father. The way he dressed and the braces he wore upon his legs looked strikingly similar to Regal's. They stood together erect and serious, focusing on the battle.

Raine, Presea and Genis, were among three of the finest warriors Kratos had ever come to know. The professor looked on in worry, tempted many times to heal Deadin, but stopped with Presea gripped her shoulder. Preasa stood next to Genis, holding hands with the younger Sage. She was as unflinching as Regal, but Genis on the other hand was obviously nervous about the whole situation... gasping at each close encounter of blade, claw, or tooth. He grew pale in the face at each drop of blood.

Zelos and Sheena held one another close. Sheena looked on in tears and Zelos, for once, was taking the fight rather seriously. His head and eyes moved with the rythem of the bout. The red head jumped away, taking Sheena with him when Gaur was pushed their way accidentally by Deadin, only to return quickly back to the formed circle with a fury.

And lastly, he turned his head to Lloyd and Colette... Lloyd nodded to him, and looked back out at the fight... his lips furling in anger, and his teeth gritting. Colette held Lloyd's hand tight as tears rolled down her cheeks. She squeeked many times during the fight, nervous at the slightest mistep Deadin took, or each dodge Gaur made against Deadin's weapons...

The ancient hero looked back at the battle, with pain in his eyes... _'You'd better not die on me, my friend...'_ His fist tightened again, and then relaxed. _'Show this coward what you're made of.' _

Deadin dodged a swipe of Gaur's sharp claws and took a quick glance at Kratos. A smile tugged at his lips, and he nodded... with Kratos nodding back a moment later.

...Deadin had told him that he would be alright... Kratos could only hope that his unspoken words were true...

**RP #17 - Newtype06. Posted on 9-19-06 **

Gaur's perfect armor shattered, revealing the scar in his chest from Deadin's blade, so many years ago. Gaur charged, grabbing Deadin in his claws and throwing the elf straight through one of the nearby buildings. The Army started, stunned that the fight apparently ended so fast, when suddenly a voice could be heard in the house.

"P…P-ppp PERFECT BEAST!"

The building exploded, blasting into timbers. The Hybrid jumped out, his sword in hand and the immovable Excalibur at his side. The Grey Wolf and the Red Wolf squared off again, this time on equal terms. Deadin charged, his sword whirling through the air, trying to score the critical blow that saved him from doom in the past.

However, Gaur proved to be too fast for him. Indeed, the Red Wolf almost danced about Deadin's blade. At one point, it caught the aged weapon in his maw, immobilizing it and drawing Deadin in closer. Gaur punched Deadin in the chest, sending him flying through a wall of soldiers that had shown up. Deadin rebounded, weaponless, and Gaur spat his sword out.

Now it was a brawl to the death. Deadin raked Gaurs body, and Gaur chewed into his. The two Hybrids roared and clawed, rending fur and tearing muscle off their opponents and taking hits in turn. Deadin stepped back a little, and charged, tackling Gaur to the ground.

"Eviscerate!" Deadin shouted, clamping down on Gaur's forearm and shaking him like a rag doll. Gaur recovered, punching Deadin squarely in the face. Gaur's technique was perfect. He was used to combat in this form. As Deadin reeled backwards, Gaur charged and tackled Deadin in turn. Deadin rolled with it, throwing Gaur over his head. Gaur recovered in the air, landing on his feet. Gaur attacked again, battering away at Deadin's defenses. One vicious kick dropped Deadin to the ground.

"I win…" Gaur said, his voice ravaged.

Deadin tried to respond, but he found he couldn't. He couldn't move his legs, or his arms. His hearing seemed to fade, and the world darkened. Deadin struggled to make himself move, but only then understood.

He wasn't in control anymore.

The Beast stood, oblivious to its wounds. Gaur eyed it suspiciously. He understood what had happened, but was unsure of the abilities of this new combatant. Deadin was not the Beast, and the Beast was not Deadin.

The Beast whirled into action, jumping up into the air and taking shelter in the sun. As Gaur looked up, blinded by the rays, he barely saw the silhouette of the Beast bear down on him, crushing him into the ground. The Beast flipped away, its shoulders shifting and its head bobbing back and forth.

Gaur smirked, and raced to meet this new challenge. Throwing a fist out to crush the Beast, he gasped as the Grey Hybrid merely opened its mouth, taking the punch directly in the face, yet still clamping onto Gaur's fist. Gaur swung his hand mightily, almost comically, trying to free himself of the…thing clamped onto his arm, but the Beast held on steadfastly. Gaur ended up punching the Beast in the face with his free hand, and only then would it relinquish Gaur's hand.

The Beast lowered it's head, charging blindly. Gaur's eyes widened as the Beast plowed right into him, taking both of them into the building behind Gaur. Gaur picked up a two by four and cracked it over the Beast's head. The Beast licked its chops, eager for more. Gaur was all too happy to grant it its wish.

Several two by fours later, Gaur found himself in a mighty grapple with the Beast. Their hands were clenched together, and each creature was struggling to push the other to its knees.

"Fascinating, Creature," Gaur laughed. "You are truly one of us! A grade-A Ymirian Shadow Wolf. It's such a shame…"

Gaur exerted himself, gaining the upper hand and forcing the Beast to one knee.

"Now, let me show you my demon: The Feral!" Gaur shouted, his eyes loosing focus, but suddenly sharpening again with a look that craved for blood.

The Feral smashed the Beast to the ground like it was nothing. It snarled over it, grabbing the Beast by its leg and hurling it into the air. The Beast howled as it flew through the air, only noticing that the Feral had covered the distance, and patiently waited below him.

The Beast punched downwards as it fell, but the Feral was too quick. It ducked out of the way, rebounding with a vicious elbow drop. Kratos, Terra, and the Army hid behind some of the nearby rubble. Merrick had his hand on his blade, but even he doubted what he could do in such a situation. This was a battle between monsters, and reasonable people had no place in such conflicts. The Beast and the Feral battered each other, but it was obvious who held the upper hand.

The Red Wolf jumped into the air, thrusting his knee forward. The Beast barely had time to bring its arms up to block the deadly knee. As the Feral came down, it swept the ground with its other leg, knocking the Beast over. The Red Wolf punched straight down into the Beast's stomach, and the Beast coughed up blood.

It was losing.

The Feral backed off, walking around in a particularly predatory manner. As the Beast laid there on the ground, its eyes looked over beyond the destroyed cottages. The Elves were back, watching the spectacle with stunned eyes. They knew now. They understood what Gaur was. Standing among them, eyes red with tears, was Lia. But more importantly to the Beast and Deadin, next to her stood a man whose eyes burned into the Hybrid. A man whose gaze beckoned them on. He was old, old even for an elf. His grey hair was receding, and he wore a long beard. A pair of spectacles sat on his nose, and a cane rested under his hand.

He was Falin Woodshadow.

_Get up, son,_ old Woodshadow thought. His eyes conveyed the same message.

_Yes sir,_ Deadin and the Beast thought in unison.

The Beast stood, watching as the crowd of elves came carefully closer. Even in the deepest, darkest, basest parts of the Beast's mind, it still knew that this creature was its father. For Deadin, he found strength unlike any he ever knew. Falin looked at him, smiling with pride, as a single tear slid down his cracked face.

The Beast roared, ready for another round.

**RP #18 - Lord Yuan. Posted on 9-19-06 **

Merrick looked on in bewilderment and amazement as the beast got back up. "Yeah! You can take him, Deadin!" he said with a little hop as he threw his fist onto the air.

Terra coughed and pulled his arm down. "Your armpits stink!" she told him, he responded with a shy chuckle and a quiet apology. She looked on as the Beast readied to fight the Feral again, as Merrick slipped into thought again.

_'Is that really Deadin? I knew he was a powerful master, but nothing like this! And Gaur! Is it really them inside those monstous shells? What if they lose control and attack us? It's not safe here!_ He glanced back over at Terra. _'I might not be able to buy enough time for her to escape if something goes wrong. I need a... Hey! Merrick, you're a genius!_ He turned to Terra. "Want to get a better view? It's a tad dangerous here but we can hop on my rheiard and watch from higher up. I'm going, you coming? Terra nodded.

So, the two hovered a good 20 feet from the brawl, about 10 feet off the ground, and as Merrick steadied the vessell, the Feral roared, and Merrick had a feeling in his gut that the next blows would be landing within seconds.

**RP #19 - Kevin1292. Posted on 9-19-06 **

"Damn, those two are crazy." Kyoshi whispered to himself. He heard a low humming noise and looked up, seeing a rheiard above. He wasn't able to tell who it was so he pulled out a wingpack and went up next to them.

"Merrick and Terra, what are you guys doing up here?" He asked scratching his chin.

"I wanted a better view and so I asked Terra if she wanted to go too. So here we are."

"I see." Kyoshi started sniffing around. "What's that horrid smell?"

"Sorry," Merrick said reaching up to scratch his head. Then out of nowhere, Kyoshi fell off his rheiard landing rather hard on the ground below.

He let out a sigh of relief after realizing he wasn't hurt bad. Then nearly a second later the rheiard came crashing down right next to him. "Holy sht!" He yelled. _I sure am lucky. I wonder if anybody noticed._ But nobody except Terra and Merrick had, as they were all watching the evermore violent fight between Deadin and Guar.

He got up and back on his rheiard and flew back up after pulling a clothespin from his pocket and putting it over his nose.

**RP #20 - Newtype06. Posted on 9-19-06 **

The Beast stood before the Feral, its eyes blazing and its tongue lolling. It knew that it could not best the Red Wolf. Gaur had proven that already. Instead, the Beast tried a different tactic, something that it had never thought of doing before.

It let Deadin in.

Deadin was stunned, watching as the darkness he was imprisoned in slowly faded away. He could see Gaur, or at least his darker shadow, the Feral. He could see his friends, standing far away; he could see Lia, and his father, watching intently from the crowd. The Elder stood amongst them, as did Ecthgow, the Captain of the Guard. Deadin drew on them, feeling their support.

_I can't win,_ a voice said in the Hybrid's mind. It was dark, a growl with consonants.

_No, but we will!_ another voice thought to his counterpart.

Deadin felt control being restored to him, in some basic form. He could move his arms, he could see through his eyes. But he felt the power and unstoppable force the Beast commanded surging through his veins. His wounds were nonexistent, his arms bands of steel, coiling over and over again for the strike.

The Feral looked at the True Hybrid in surprise. In all his years, Gaur had never heard of something like this happening. One had to always be in control. Either the Elf, or his Demon. Never before in the history of the Ymirian Shadow Wolves had such a feat been attained.

The Feral charged, rather sloppily, Deadin noticed. The Beast responded by stepping to the side, grabbing the Feral's head in a powerful headlock and smashing it into the ground. The Beast pounded the Feral's head into the dirt several times, before it pulled out of the Beast's grasp and backed off.

Deadin charged, weaving carefully through the Feral's wanton strikes. The Feral swung its arms with incredible speed, but in its madness it failed to notice Deadin's eyes. The Hybrid watched as muscle after muscle coiled and unfurled on the Feral's arms. The Beast reacted in turn, snapping to the side and throwing deadly blows at the Feral's exposed chest.

The Feral backed up, jumping into the air, hiding in the sun and trying to mimic the same move the Beast pulled off earlier. Deadin rolled into the space the Feral just occupied, and the Red Wolf passed harmlessly overhead. The Beast swung his foot around, clipping the Feral's legs and sending it tumbling to the ground. The Beast charged up, ready to tear out the Red Wolf's throat, but Deadin calmly restrained him. Such techniques were reserved for the likes of Gaur.

The Feral, powerless on the ground, shifted uncomfortably. Gaur was reasserting his control. It seemed the Feral's brute power was of no help here. Deadin's seasoned ability read every move. The Red Wolf, Gaur once again, stood and brushed himself off.

"Very impressive, old friend," Gaur said. "I've never seen anything quite like it. Still…"

"Shut you mouth, scum!" A voice erupted from the Elven crowd. Falin walked forward. His cane was gone, his spectacles in his pocket. The Elf looked as young as he did when Deadin knew him last. "It was you! It was you that sent Deadin away! And now look! You are the one guilty of the crime he was banished for! You blinded us, you deceived us!"

"Heh, and I succeeded, you fool," Gaur smirked.

"Why don't you tell them, Gaur?" the Hybrid said. Its eyes were a model of integrity and truth, while his mouth slathered and growled for more. "Why don't you tell them the truth about Niten?"

Gaur looked at Deadin, his eyes in a blaze. "You can't prove anything."

"We'll let them decide, shall we?" Deadin said. He turned to the crowd, raising his arms in appeal. "I did not kill Niten. I killed the creature he had become. He became one of us, a Wolf of the Night, and it pained him to lose the honour that he had spent so much of his life to attain! I have made it my burden to venture where he dared not to walk. He asked me to do it, and I did. But the creature I killed was another Wolf, another monster. Niten, the elf we all loved, my teacher, my friend, my master was killed the moment _this_ creature tainted his blood with this accursed disease!"

The crowd was silent.

"Bravo, Deadin," Gaur laughed. "Regardless, you are the one who killed Niten! It doesn't matter!"

But Gaur's words bounced off Deadin like so many pebbles. The crowd of Elves, moved not only by Deadin's words, but also by Falin's, began to shift behind Deadin, taking a place with the Army from Exire and the rest of Deadin's friends. Even the Elven Elder, the elf who had banished Deadin one hundred and seventy years ago, stood side by side with Lloyd and Kratos. Small purple flames began to lick the hilt of Excalibur…

"You think you've won, don't you?" Gaur said. His hands began to swim through the air, preparing some sort of spell. Deadin didn't even flinch. He was beyond anything Gaur could throw at him. He realized that now. "Let's see what _they_ have to say about that!"

With one final wave of his arms, dozens of Tarivian foot soldiers appeared before Gaur.

"Cheated," Kratos growled, standing twenty paces behind Deadin. He and the rest of the army were at Deadin's side in an instant. The tiny purple flames around Excalibur's hilt ignited into a raging fire. Deadin noticed, getting a grip on the majestic weapon.

_Help us…please…_ Deadin and the Beast whispered in their minds. Excalibur, the gift from Zelos, the mighty blade, began to grind against its scabbard, sending purple sparks everywhere.

The Hybrid pulled, and the blade painstakingly slid from its' sheath. The moment its steel touched the air, the blade was enveloped in purple flame. Yet the wispy fires did not harm Deadin.

Words were stamped into the blade. "To the Commander" was written down the length of the blade in beautiful elvish script. Deadin brandished the blade at Gaur and his forces, and the armies charged.

The Tarivians cowed before Excalibur, and they paid for their hesitation. The Elves and the Army plowed through the vanguard, and Deadin was once again face to face with Gaur.

"Nice trick," Deadin snarled. Several more Elves had been killed. "How'd you pick that one up?"

"You don't know, do you?" Gaur said angrily. "There are creatures in this world that bestow great power onto those that can defeat them."

"Archangels," Aaron said from in the crowd.

"Call them what you like. It was easy enough to sneak up on one of them and kill it. Now look at my power!" Gaur cried, raising his arms for effect.

"You have nothing, Gaur. Look around you." Deadin said flatly. Indeed, Gaur had lost it all. He lost his army, his love, and his prestige. All he had left was revenge. But the Beast wasn't about to give him that luxury.

The Beast stepped forward, Excalibur still gleaming in his hand. Gaur shifted back into his elvish form, some tatters left where his armor once was. Gaur stumbled backwards, trying to gain support, but finding none. Finally, reaching into his sleeve, Gaur produced a dagger and rushed at Lia. Lia gasped, and Falin moved between Gaur and Lia

"NO!" The Hybrid shouted, and leapt into action. Covering the distance in the blink of an eye, the Beast swung Excalibur, cleaving Gaur in two.

The Red Elf was no more.

"It's over," Deadin said, letting the mythical blade drop. He slowly reverted into his elven form, letting himself flop down on a rock. Lia ran over, knocking Deadin over in a wild embrace. Falin, rejuvenated beyond the explanation of all, stepped over and proudly placed his hand on his son's shoulder. Deadin cried, he was so happy. Kratos smiled happily, for the first time in a while, and Colette and Lloyd held each other in a happy embrace.

"My family!" Deadin shouted gleefully, looking from Kratos to Lloyd, to Terra, who had just joined them. "You are all here!" He stopped suddenly. Something was wrong. Gaur's body suddenly erupted in green sparks. They flew from his corpse, and orbited Deadin instead. The green lights levitated above Deadin, and formed into one.

"Get back!" Deadin shouted, pushing his family away. The single green spark plummeted onto Deadin, enveloping him in its power. Gaur's body vanished, as did the green light.

All that remained was Deadin. The Elf stumbled to his feet, a little groggy. He blinked his eyes a few times, unable to believe what he was seeing. The Beast tried to assist Deadin in regaining his senses. After all, it was those senses that had saved their lives only moments before.

Standing just beyond the crowd, thousands of the Tarivian foot soldiers filled the town. Simultaneously, they knelt down, prostrating themselves before Deadin.

"Earth Tarivians," Deadin said automatically. "Gaur's troops…are now mine…" He pointed to two of them. "Find Anna Lea Iscon, immediately!" The two Tarivians disappeared, and the rest remained. "As for the rest of you, I will call you when the need comes."

The Tarivians disappeared. Moments later, a pair of Tarivians brought a terrified Anna to Deadin. Deadin ran to her, smiling broadly, and embraced her with all of his heart, pulling her close to him forever.

"Wow," Zelos said, eyes wide, "he's good…OW!"

Sheena removed her elbow from Zelos' gut.

"What! I can't admire a guy for his technique?" Zelos pouted. Sheena sighed and rubbed her temples. _That's my husband, all right…_

Deadin grabbed Anna's hand. The Beast could feel something was wrong, but it couldn't decipher what. Deadin led Anna to his family, introducing her to Lia, Falin, and all the Elves he could remember. Kratos stepped forward, shaking old Falin's hand, and Lloyd soon followed suit. Deadin went to find Terra, and introduced her to Lia. In time, he knew they would become great friends.

Everything was perfect, Deadin noted. For the first time in a long time, everything was just perfect…


	22. List of Characters

GW name: White Rose  
**Character name:** Terra Irving  
**Age:** 16  
**Gender:** Female  
**Race:** Human  
**Height:** 5'9"  
**Weight:** ?  
**Weapon:** Basic Wooden sword, made by her father. (for now anyway.)  
**Class:** Erupting swordgirl: A girl who does not normally like to fight. Don't push her buttons, or you'll regret it.  
**Description:** Brown eyes, a slender but strong and voluptuous build, slightly tanned skin, and blondish-brown hair of medium length. Her bangs are grown out and usually hang to the right of her face. She wears a red and yellow cotton tunic crafted by a citizen of Iselia as a gift to her for something she once delivered to this person. Around her neck is a white scarf. She wears light brown open fingered leather gloves, blue tight pants, and black boots with gold claps.

**Biography:** An only child born to Colette Brunel and Lloyd Irving just four years after the reunification of the worlds, Terra grew up with her heritage hidden from her. Always afraid to ask her father about her past, and with her mother not around much to talk to because of duties at the Martel Temple, Terra kept to herself most of the time--always wondering about her life, and her family. She often made up stories about her missing family in her dreams, only to awaken to the dark reality before her each time.

When she turned 13, she began to work with her father, helping him with his blacksmithing business. The business taken over by Lloyd about 7 years ago, when Dirk, Lloyd's adoptive dwarven father, suddenly passed away from a mysterious illness that killed him slowly over the course of several months. This devestated Lloyd, and everyone that he travelled with a great deal. Slowly, time passed and Lloyd was able to carry on, despite the loss in his heart. Terra tried to keep up with her father's pace when it came to crafting objects and weapons, but she was no match for the speed of him, or his two apprentinces. So, he eventually gave her a new job. One that he hired someone for, but had to fire because of a certain financial situation. Theft. She became his delivery girl. She delievered his goods to every town, village, and kingdom there possibly was, using Lloyd's Rheaird, and was paid handsomly for most of them, whether in cash, or other materials. She never kept alot of the money she received however. She always gave a large portion of it to her father and mother. This is how the Irving's made their living, and because of this, their name was known far and wide as some of the best crafters in the world. . . . next to the legendary Altessa, of the former world of Tethe'alla.

As Terra continues to deliever for her father, she also continues to wonder about her heritage. Ever hoping that one day, she can find the answers she desires.

GW name: Abyssion  
**Character name:** Raiden Bryant  
**Age:** 18  
**Gender:** male  
**Height:** 6'6"  
**Weight:** 205lbs.  
**Weapon:** a 6 foot pole carved with ancient elven writing  
**Armor:** black elvish brassard. White cloth pants, almost a perfect match with Zelos's pants. Leather gloves and boots with a kind of metal on the front of the boots  
**Magic:** anything wind based Raiden was a master at  
**Class:** Gladiator  
**Description:** a very well built young man. Since a brassard shows most of the chest and stomach his pecs and abs can clearly be pointed out. His leg build is well built for a warrior of his sort. He has brown shaggy hair almost covering his eyes. Blue is the color of his eyes and he has a nice heart-warming smile. He has fairly built arms to go with the rest of his body.

**Biography:** Was found by Regal Bryant outside of his city parked by a tree inside the foul monster infested woods. Regal raised him to be a great and stealthy warrior. He was Raiden's hero as he heard many stories from regal and his adventures with Lloyd and the rest of his team. As time went by regal was starting to get old and would have to find a successor to his company. Raiden without hesitation went to Regal and asked to be the new president of the company. Regal said yes of course and Raiden was thrilled. Late that night the vice president hired a captor to take Regal away and have him killed because of Regal's choice in who the new president would be. The captor succeeded but instead of killing him he sent him to the coliseum in Meltokio. That morning when Raiden woke up he came to find out that Regal was missing. He became furious and sad all together and suspected that the vice president was behind this. He went to him and took a knife to his throat demanding what he did with his father. The vice president scared to death told him he was sent to the colisium to fight and be executed if he had won. Raiden then took a rheiard and went as fast as he could to meltokio. When he had arrived he found his father was up next in the fight. He pleaded to the head person of the coliseum that he be put in there instead of his father. The person agreed and had Regal watch his son about to die in the coliseum, but if Raiden had won his father would go free.

GW name: Captain Sagara  
**Character name:** Kalas Fujibayashi  
**Age:** 17  
**Height:** 6"4'  
**Weight:** 195 lbs  
**Weapons:** Short range pointu things XD kodachi, hand to hand as well as shurikens and throwing knives.  
**Appearance:** Short, messy light brown hair, long cargo pants and white tee shirt. Not too strong physically but can fight well because of his knowledge of pressure points and being able to read an opponent. Wears sandals.   
Because he's been out of society for so long, he no longer knows how to act and prefers to be by himself, however, takes very little serious except for when fighting.

**Biography:** Brother to Sheena (or distant relative, depending on the time of our RP). Kalas was Sheena's brother, and at the incident at Volt's temple, he was the only one who stood up for her, and in addition to the many people killed that day at the hand of Volt, Kalas also killed those who had suggested exucuting Sheena. Kalas was banished from Mizuho, but he spent hid time in the Gaoricchia forest, amoung the trees, since then, he has practiced stealth and hand to hand combat, as well as throwing shurikens and throwing knives. Over time, Kalas went slowly crazy and longed to see his sister back in Mizuho. So he disguised himself as Kuchinawa. Only Kalas knew of Sheena's full potential, so he pushed her time and again, driving her to the end of her wit trying to make her fight back, to unleash her true power, he never thought, that he may be beaten by her some day. Kalas cares about very few things, he does not grimace at death and desires true power. He went one day to challenge Origin, but acted too rashly and was trapped in a state of paralysis, where he waits silently, unaging, for someone to find him.

GW name: AngelicAura616  
**Character name:** Aaron Sage   
**Age:** 17  
**Race:** Half-elf  
**Title:** Magic Swordsman; Military Specialist  
**Weapons:** 2 long, light-weight sabers  
**Appearance:** Average weight, 6'1", normally wearing a military outfit, a naturally happy face.

**Biography:** As a baby, Raine and Genis Sage discovered him at Balacruf Mausoleum when they were going around the world, fighting against the cruel treatment of half-elves. They took him home and adopted him, because they could tell he was a half-elf. When he was old enough to go to school, they sent him to the school at which Raine and Genis taught. This is where he met Terra Irving, the daughter of Lloyd and Colette Irving, who were companions to Raine and Genis before they took off on their own. They would play and talk with each other and every once in awhile, Aaron would go to Terra's house and play there. After Raine and Genis made sure he kept his grades up, they began personally teaching him how to cast spells. He excelled in this, and began making up his own spells. These spells were spells that had to do with storms, or sometimes simply water, wind, and electricity. He perfected these spells, and soon was enlisted in a training program for spellcasters to learn to use weapons. He trained with this program for 4 years, and then was taken into the militia of Magic Swordsman of Iselia-Triet region.

GW name: cepussinboots  
**Character name:** Merlin Tyashi   
**Age:** 109  
**Gender:** Male  
**Race:** Human   
**Height:** 5'7"  
**Weight:** ?  
**Weapons:** Doesn't generally attack head on, but uses an ordinary wooden staff   
**Appearence:** Like all old men look, only he has a long white beard that reaches the floor, that he generally trips over.   
**Personality:** a fun loving old man, very eccentric, and has a knack for getting himself into trouble, but as he is so old, people worry about him, unaware that he can easily handle himself just fine!1 often trips over his beard...  
**class:** Wizard   
**spells:** he learnt all his spells from books he found in acient lands, which cannot be reached by a normal human. his favourite of which is called Drill Bird, a summon that calls forth a bird of mystical powers that can tunnel through literally anything or anyone. He also found a spell that lets him place his staff inside his body, and draw it out again as a powerful sword that gloes bright red, this is called, Blood Sword.

**Biography:** Comes from the ancient far off land of Karenlia. it was destroyed years ago, when Merlin reached the age of 54, since then, he decided to go off and find a new place to settle down. by using the power of his drill bird, he cut his way underground until he came into a land, that was apparantly new to rebirth, Sylvarant and tethe'alla. he settled down in Meltokio, but travelled the whole land in search of new spells, new friends and new adventure, along the way which, he met Terra Irving, who gets on well with her, and now he is like a grandad to him, so she calls him Gramps, but then, so does everyone! Currently he saw the meteors crashing, and transported himself there as quick as possible, using the power of his drill bird, which he recently discovered is a very efficient way of travelling if you sit on it. he got to the meteorite, and is now sitting there, wondering what was going on...

**Character Name:** Quandy Gisachio  
**Age:** 28... well, probably about 1000 now... he doesnt age  
**Sex:** Male  
**Race:** Quarter Demon 3/4 Human  
**Height:** 6'4''  
**Weight:** ?  
**Class:** Eternal Meditator - The Meditator. A class passed down by the Gisachio family, to every 8 generations. A unique fighting style, using the power of meditation, and concentrating.  
**Weapon:** The Sword Of Eternal Life (Basically a big beefy powerful sword!)  
**Description:** Tall, Long white hair, well built, blue eyes. deep booming voice!

**Bio:** Brought up in the town of Samusark, Quandy trained as a young boy, by his father to become a Samurai. A competition called Samurai Swords showed Quandy to be the best at what he was, in his town, and he was presented with a strong samurai blade. Quandys uncle, Tahfhun, was a half demon, a race persecuted against by the demons, infact, anyone known to have demonic blood in them was banished to the demon realm. Tahfhun had left to go into the forest later that very night, where Quandy followed, and saw his Uncle in his demon form. Quandy spoke to him, and his uncle told him on how he had to go to serve his race. Straight after his departure, some harpies came and attacked Quandy, making him run deep into the forest, and fall down a hole, 50 feet below ground.  
In this hole, Quandy found a talking grave, of his late ancestor, Xzam Gisachio, the person who stopped the demons in the last war, the last Meditator, 8 generations before Quandy. Xzam taught Quandy the arts of Meditation, and rewarded him after 15 long years of training, all in this hole, with the sword of eternal life and a summon spirit, which Quandy chose to be Efreet (a different one to the one we know). Quandy had to give up one thing however, to become a full Meditator, so he gave up his soul. Xzam, previously, had given up his body, which is why his soul could communicate through the stone. Quandys last task was to kill his master, so he destroyed the stone, and Xzams soul went to rest in the sword of eternal life. however, as xzam as his master, he could still communicate with Quandy, as long as he held the sword. People on the surface, believed Quandy to be dead, as he was missing for 15 years, and he came across his old friend, Alex, at the ruins of Samusark, which had been destoryed by the Demons. Quandy and Alex travelled together, to try and lead the humans to victory against the Demons once again, but first, Quandy needed to restore the sword of eternal lifes power, so he had to travel to the 10 pendelums of life across the land, inserting the sword, and getting more power in each one. ON the way he met Usof, the king of theives, who helped them.  
When Quandy had finally restored almost full power to the Sword, he faced a great battle in loking for the last pendulum, which was in the Demon Realm. He lead the Humans to war on the Darklands, and ventured down to the Demon realm, while they were all fighting. Down he went, and he met up with his Uncle, Tahfhun, who went by the name of Raadra, which was his Demon Name. Raadra revealed that he was now King of the Demons, and that he was also... Quandys Father. Quandy knew that he was 1/4 demon from this, and exploded in a fit of rage, restoring the power to the sword of eternal life, and killing his father, ending the war against the Demons. However, during the war, Alex had been killed, and Quandy and Usof ventured into the hills, to give her a proper burial...

GW name: Confused God  
**Name:** Rusty Owiien  
**Age:** 17  
**Gender:** Male  
**Race:** Human  
**Appearance:** Standing 5'10 (and very conscious of his hieght) Rusty is an average looking teenager with dark brown hair that just falls short of his hazel eyes, slightly obscuring them (similar to Tsubasa of Tsubasa Chronicle). He can often be found sporting a dark green cloak over a black t-shirt. Under his cloak, across the back of his shirt, he sheaths his trusted sword; a lengthly katana by the name of Harusame (Spring Rain). Despite peaceful times, he carries this sword constantly, a habit of his that tends to annoy people.  
**Magic:** Rusty never excelled in magic. Despite his nature of melee-based attacking, the only decent spells he has ever developed are healing ones. Because of his healing magic, he is often made fun of (aside from fun made of him for being short and carrying his sword all the time). Because of this, Rusty rarely uses his healing magic, saving it only for when needed.  
**Class:** Dissastisfied Swordsman - A title given to one who is not content with his skill, but ever seeks to be stronger.

**Biography:** Rusty was born and raised in Triet, where he was constantly surrounded by diversity and adventure. The idea of leaving the desert was one of his prime motivations as he trained himself, eager to see more of the world. At the age of 16 his parents finally decided he was of age to leave, and with little remorse, Rusty began an adventure of his own. Only six months into his journey he met with a half-elf who was only a couple of years younger than him. This half-elf was Taren Nakida, slightly shorter than Rusty (which is pretty short) with messy black hair. He was the polar opposite of Rusty, specializing in magic but having only offensive spells. Their personalities, however, shared some common points. They soon began to travel with each other, and another six months later, they found themselves just a couple of miles north of Garocchia Forest...

GW name: Tome  
**Character name:** Eno Neddibrof  
**Age:** 16  
**Gender:** Male  
**Height:** 6'2"  
**Weight:** 180 lbs  
**Weapon:** Bow (and arrows, of course), and a blade, which he uses on occasion.  
**Armor:** A white shirt and brown pants that fit comfortably. Average gloves to keep his hands from getting blisters. Regular brown boots that are easy to run in.   
**Magic:** Excels at water-based moves. Other types of magic are significantly weaker, especially fire and lightning.  
**Class:** Elemental Archer  
**Description:** A thin person, who doesn't look real muscular. He is often described as lanky, although he uses it to his advantage for reach. His hair is dark, even though he is a half-elf. He doesn't wear any real tough armor, beyond his normal clothing. Because of this, his defense is low, but his attacks are swift and somewhat powerful. He prefers to attack from a range when he can, either with his bow or his magic. He thinks it will slow him down too much, so he wears what is comfortable. His hair is cut somewhat short. His eyes are a cold, hard shade of blue. There is little compassion in his eyes.

**Biography:** His mother was an elf, his father a human. As soon as he was born, the world hated, despite all Lloyd and the others have done to make it otherwise. Sure, it isn't as bad as it used to be, but it was still pretty bad (Think of it like this: When the American Civil War ended, the blacks were no longer slaves, but they didn't have fair treatment, either). His mother fled the village with him, attempting to enter the city of Exire. Even when they found a way to get there, they were refused entry because his mother was a pure elf. After wandering for a while, the two end up in the forests near New Mizuho and New Ozette.

Eno remembers none of this, of course. His earliest memories are of the small lake they found to live near. Deer and other animals drank from it, and it soon became his favorite spot. He loved the water, and his mother. While they lived together, she taught him how to hunt with both his bow and knife. She also gave him an education as best she could. On several occasions they tried to enter the city of New Ozette to purchase books or arrows, only to be treated utterly unfairly and, on some occasions, harmed. Eno excelled at math, which always made more sense to him that people.

Because of this, Eno's outlook towards people was less than optimistic. He grew more and more distant from the world in which he lived, caring for no one but his mother. They both lived by that lake, hunting enough to live, but no more. And they were happy. By age nine, Eno was starting to excel at water-based magic, probably based on his love for the lake where he swam each day.

Unfortunately, when Eno was ten his mother was killed in a tragic accident. A run in with a bear left her to bleed to death in front of his eyes. At that point he grew cold. He refused to leave the forest around his lake. It was the only thing left he cared about. He started to make his own arrows. He only entered the cities as a last resort to get his hands on books for his education, which his mother insisted he continue with, even with her last breaths. And so he is intelligent and informed enough, although he has had very little interaction with the technology of the new world.

GW name: King Ridley  
**Character name:** Aegir Bane  
**Age:** 37  
**Gender:** Male  
**Height:** 56"  
**Weight:** 143  
**Race:** Desian  
**Weapon:** Silver Arm Cannon (similar to Forcystus'), and a dagger.  
**Magic:** A master at water based spells, but also knows some wind spells.  
**Apperance:** Aegir is very short, but is also very muscular. He has messy, blue hair that goes down to his shoulders, and almost completely black eyes. He wears black pants and a dark blue shirt, which is covered by a lighter blue jacket. He wears several pendants hanging from his neck, which contain pictures of his sister, and Forcystus. He has a silver guantlet on his right hand, and his arm cannon is on his left. He has a brown leather belt with a gold buckle. On the belt is a sheath with a dagger in it. The dagger is stained with blood.

**Biography:** Aegir was the right hand man of Forcystus, and his best friend. Once Forcystus was killed by Lloyd, Aegir vowed to get revenge. He is always trying to find the whereabouts of Lloyd, but he still has never discovered them until this day. As of now, he has searched the entire world of Tethe'alla. Being a Desian, Aegir has a strong hatred towards humans, but is able to live around them. But, Aegir respects all half-elfs, Desian or not, and he is always going out of his way to make life better for them. He currently resides in Exire, but plans to go to Sylvarant to continue his search for Lloyd.

Aegir has one sister, Ran, whom he loves very much. Unlike Aegir, Ran respects all living creatures, and is always trying to change the veiws of Aegir. If not for her, Aegir would have slaughtered millions of humans after the death of Forcystus. Ran lives in Exire with Aegir.

GW name: Jawni  
**Character name:** Aros Narnes  
**Age:** 19  
**Gender:** Male  
**Height:** 6' 2"  
**Weight:** 145 lbs  
**Weapon:** Nalrahk. An eight foot long staff made from a root of the Giant Kharlan Tree (the on that died). Covered with magic runes which make it twice as durable as same sized staff made from mythril. Also it can be to heal.  
**Class:** Lone Wolf. Through solitude and hardship one shall always over come ones problems. A title given to the one that was left alone.  
**Description:** Long, slightly curled and light blue hair, blueish gray eyes, white skin. Muscular yet very skinny body. Wears groken black pants and a white shirt. Has a pair of boots and a long brown cloak.

**Biography** and a small pre-intro: There was a secret elven culture hidden in the dephts of a giant forest once grewn before the wars and before the world was split. Because the world was split, the giant forest disappeared and the elves were left without a home. They build a new village atop of an overpass inside at the Fooji Mountains. There they lived for three thousand years until the village was destroyed in a mighty eartquake. Aros Narnes is a survivor of that ancient elven culture. Only a small group of elves survived it and continued their lives homeless, but not helpless. They continued their lives drifting around the world hunting and trading goods for food and clothes. They possessed powerful magic which made them virtualy invicible to the naked eye. That knowledge helped them to survive all these years.

Only four decades ago before Lloyd and his companions started their journey to regenerate the world, Mithos Yggdrasill came to know of this culture. He sent a large group of half-elves to find them and capture a few alive. The half-elves took the elves by suprise and slayed many of them. A small group were captured and taken to see Mithos. He wanted to possess their magic which made them invicible. One by one he tortured the elves, but none of them told Mithos anything.

After months of interigation and torturing the elves decided to break out. Using their skills and magic they made it back to the land from Derris-Kharlan, but did not return to Tethe'alla. Instead they ended up in Sylvarant, a land which they knew nothing about. Only five elves made it, but they were determined to survive and continue to live in this new land. They ended up making a small shelter for them soemwhere in the forest near Hima. There they lived pretending to be pilgrims and hunted for a living.

After Lloyd's group united the worlds again, the elves found themselves back in the great forest where once a long time ago their ancestors lived. They felt the same mana around them as they felt inside of them. They were home. The raced across the forest to the deepest part of it. There they found nothing but few stone tablets telling ancient stories and a wooden staff which a magic runes in it. They knew what that staff was. It was their cultures greatest treasure, Nalrahk. A staff made from a root of the Giant Kharlan Tree that once stood in the very center of the world.

At that place where they found those relics, they decided to live. They gave birth to two children, Aros and his twin brother Ethea. Their parents were over 200 years old at that time and they knew that their life was soon to end. By the time Aros and Ethea were 5 their fathers and mothers were dead and ony their uncle was alive. He tought instructed the children on how to survive and how to use magic. Both of them were eager to learn and it didn't take long before they knew everything their uncle knew. By the time the brothers were 13 their uncle died and they grieved over the loss of their uncle as for their mentor. They decided to leave the forest and begin a search for a better place to live and start a new life. They possessed mighty magic as well as survival skills which they made use of on their journey around the forest.

Not long from their departure they found themselves in great danger. They found themselves face to face against a spirit of the forest. They had heard of them from their uncle and knew that the forest spirits weren't friendly. A fight begun in which Ethea was killed and Aros got wounded badly. Ethea had killed himself in order to save his brother. Aros was devastated. He lost his only brother and and the last of his family. Aros was alone now in the wide world which he knew only bits and pieces that he had learned from his late uncle. Aros was a determined young man that never gave up even if he was expected to do difficult tasks. Aros honored his brothers life and buried him into the place where he had died and then Aros left the forest to start the life he and his brother were supposed to live.

GW Name: Newtype06  
**Character Name:** Deadin Draugdu ( Silent-Shadow Night-Wolf)  
**Age:** 245  
**Gender:** Male   
**Species:** Elf  
**Height:** 6'1 (3'0")  
**Weight:** 180 lbs.  
**Weapon:** Broadsword, or claws and fangs  
**Class:** Ymirian Shadow Wolf : Unassuming and stealthy when necessary, you harbor a great evil power inside you. How long can you keep it in check?  
**Description:** A silver haired elf, He has green eyes, and carries a broadsword at his side. He has a somewhat feral, wolfish look to him, with long sideburns, disheveled eyebrows, and a pointed nose and chin. Clad in a studded brown leather tunic, Deadin's appearance is like any normal traveller's. However, he harbors a ferocious beast inside.

**Biography:** Deadin was born in Heimdall, like most of his race. When Deadin was young, only in seventies, he was bit by a Ymirian Werewolf. Unable to reach the safety and healing of Heimdall in time, Deadin became a Ymirian Werewolf as well. However, he is one of the few elvish werewolves, and as such a strange defect occurred. Deadin can struggle to maintain control sometimes when he transforms, unlike a normal Werewolf that is mindless in it's transformations. Even more interesting is his ability to sometimes trigger his transformation at will. When in combat, Deadin can become a massive wolf, capable of attacking his enemies with lightning speed and great ferocity. When the situation calls for it, Deadin can shift to a "half-way" form, becoming a bipedal wolf-man. In this form he can use his broadsword and and claws and fangs as well. While this form is totally superior to his normal elf form, it terrifies most people, forcing Deadin to keep it hidden when in a town or city. When the elders of Heimdall realized that Deadin was a Ymirian Werewolf, they banished him from Heimdall. Deadin didn't care, for he was plagued with wanderlust anyway. He wandered around Tethe'alla, until one day the two worlds finally connected and became one. With a whole new world ahead of him, Deadin decided to explore some more. Until one day he saw a meteor storm, and smelled the distinct tang of mana coming from the debris….  
**Techs:** Perfect Beast (think demonic circle, except with Beast. Deadin uses this tech when he transforms)  
Nature's Ardor ( Pretty much a Nurse spell, cept a bunch of healing leaves fly around)  
Eviscerate ( Wolf Forms only; Deadin clamps down on enemy with his fangs and tosses the enemy like a rag doll)

GW name: Dragoon Taryn  
**Character name:** Ellyria Highwind  
**Age:** 27  
**Gender:** Female  
**Race:** Human  
**Height:** 5'2"  
**Weight:** 120lbs  
**Weapon:** The Knight Sword Idun (named after the Norse Goddess of Immortality)   
**Class:** Mercenary: Does odd jobs and protects people for money. Matchmaking is done for free!  
**Special Magic Spells:** Flames of Destruction (Fire), Raging Tides (Water), Bolt of Judgement (Lightning), Hailstorm (Ice), Dancing Earth (Earth), Whirlwind (Wind), Absolute Darkness (Dark), Shining Purity (Light).   
**Description:** Short brown hair, dark black eyes, voluptuous build, and slightly pale skin. Keeps her bangs pulled back with a head band that looks like a miniature tiara. Has a plain black choker around her neck. Wears an off-shoulder dress with long sleeves, and slits on both sides the dress, starting at her hips to expose her legs, which are slightly covered by skintight spandex shorts. Dons black leather highboots to complete the look.  
**Personality:** Ellyria does not like to show extreme emotions, but maintains a level personality. She can be blunt about things, and often shows a lack of tact. She is very easy to get along with and can be pleasant to anyone who is in her company. She is not afraid to be a part of dangerous situations, whether she has to be bait, or the decoy, or anything of equal measure. She is dependable and will back her friends and allies up. She is also nosy when it comes to her friends' love lives, and tries to play matchmaker. However, she is very shy when it comes to her own love life and does not know how to handle intimate situations involving herself.

**Biography:** Originally born in Luin, Ellyria and her parents moved to Asgard when she was three. At the age of seven, she moved back to Luin to help rebuild it after the Desians completely destroyed the town. Ellyria began to idolize the heroes (especially the mysterious Kratos) and decided to train to become a swordwoman. At the age of fifteen, she left home and became a mercenary, doing odd jobs to earn money and gain experience. Now at the age of twenty-seven, she senses that soon a threat will rise, and heroes will be needed once again…

GW name: Re'Ya'Salkas'Yassin'Huine/Tizar Huine/Sekhmet  
**Characters Name:** Anna Lea Iscon  
**Race:** Elven Panther Humanoid   
**SubRace:** Panther/Dark Elf  
**Occupation:** Mercenary   
**Appearance:** Long Ebony hair, Emerald green eyes  
**Age:** 30  
**Height:** 6ft  
**Description:** Looks like a large panther, wears a green cloak but nothing more as she is naturally covered in fur.  
**Weapons:** her own teeth and claws.

**Bio:** The Dark Elves and the Panther of the forest had mingled just after the worlds merged. Anna grew up in around the forests of Gaorocchia Forest, during the time of not much changed in the forest though her mother, a panther humanoid taught the skill of silent tracking and her father, a dark elf trained her to be a skilled fighter... She had grown restless and began exploring the edges of the forests

**Character Name:** Vanim'en'i'Shae (Beauty of the Ocean)  
**Race:** Golden Ocean Elf (mermaid)  
**Occupation:** Priestess of Fond, the goddess of the Ocean  
**Class:** Ocean Warrior  
**Description:** She is 4 foot 7 inches when in humanoid form, otherwise, she is about 5 feet length when in her natural form. Ankle length naturally bluish-green hair interwoven with strings of mother of pearl and blue coral; her eyes reflect the color of the ocean in which she came, pastel blue with sparkles of lighter blue with in. Her skin tone is that of light blue with green accented by the silver armlets of precious stones from the deep depths of the ocean. She has a bubbly voice that seems to echo the ocean depths.  
**Age:** Unknown (looks 20)  
**Weapons:** Great White Shark tooth daggers; Silver Trident; Pink Coral Staff of the goddess; Humpback Whale bone Bow and Arrows;

**Bio:** When the worlds merged, magic was awakened from the suspended animation, she emerged from the depths of the ocean to a new world to find that many of her kind had faded away. She seeks to discover if there are others like herself even if it means to travel over land. She wears what is required when on land for the best defence as possible. She is somewhat unfamiliar with land dwellers behaviors and traditions.

**Character name:** Purrti Tauretinechor  
**Age:** 200  
**Gender:** Female  
**Race:** Humanoid Panther  
**Height:** 5'9"  
**Weight:** 200 lbs mostly muscle  
**Weapon:** Her claws, teeth and black bladed scimitar with blue sapphires embedded within the handle.  
**Class:** Teacher  
**Description:** Looks like a large humanoid panther with long flowing black hair and yellow eyes.  
**Bio:** Has lived in the hidden village of the Purrdi, large panther like creatures, in the forest near the the Ninja Village. They are protectors of the forest. Purrti mastered the magics of her people and weapons that support their special features. She watched as the humans and half elves caused havoc upon this worlds. She doesn't trust humans unless the lesser creatures of the forest prove that the humans are worthy of her trust.

GW name: Imyn Celyune  
**Character Name:** Imyn Celyune   
**Age:** 16  
**Race:** Human  
**Job:** None   
**Title:** Solo Warrior: The one fighter for them all. Do not mess with me!  
**Home:** None  
**Weapon:** Ether sword   
**Techs:** Light spear, Grave  
**Appearance:** Cyan hair down to the shoulders, and navy blue long sleeve shirt and pants

**Bio:** Is a traveling warrior, fighting to hone his skills. He is often quiet, but very kind and warmhearted. When he does speak, he speaks very much like Presea.

GW name: Fated Destiny/Genis Sage/Lord Yuan  
**Character Name:** Merrick Lynch  
**Age:** 17  
**Gender:** Male  
**Race:** Human  
**Height:** 5'9''  
**Weight:** 240 lbs  
**Weapon:** Heavy Longsword (2 handed)  
**Class:** Amnesiac Bard: He forgets all and sings for all. Perhaps he took a blow to the head?  
**Description:** An elegant swordsman with a 2 handed 3 foot long blade, too thick and durable to wield with a single hand. His long brown hair is tied back in a ponytail and he often wears loose clothing, including robes should the need arise, especially magical robes with high magic resistance, as they provide a lifeline against deadly enemy spells. As well, he likes the freedom of movement that loose clothing offer, being of a large build and using his weight to his advantage whenever he needs to. Green eyes and a scar across his left cheek are his trademark facial features. His voice can often be heard, singing various songs of glory or destruction.

**Biography:** At the age of 13, Merrick awoke in the smouldering remains of a forest fire, unaware of even his name for the longest time. He created the alias of Drai (ancronym for "Dragon's Rage Am I", due to his intense anger at whoever may have abandonned him there, not knowing if it was even a planned fire to kill him) Travelling for a few days, he stumbled across a lake. Starving and dying of thirst, he collapsed while taking a drink, and was found by some cultists who lived together in a hut not far from there. They tended to his scarred wounds, trying to heal the burnt flesh. They managed to prevent a lot of scarring, but since then he has been very resistant to heat. He joined their cult in search of spiritual answers. He found none, and when their "God" did not speak to him, his fellow cultists turned on him. He grabbed the ornamental sword from the altar, the thick blade he still uses to this day, and slew them all in self defense. Not wanting to stay in this place of anger and sorrow, he left once more.

This was when he found a love for singing. It put his emotions into an easily released form, and allowed him to express himself more freely. He was quite good, and many travellers began to hire him to keep their morale up. He often kept the lookout as they slept, giving him time to search his soul and during this time was when he found his magical powers. He often practiced putting out the fire with water or wind and re-lighting it with a fire spell. However, one day while travelling with a new friend, he missed the extinguished fire in the dark and lit his companion on fire, and in his panic he was unable to put it out, so he burnt to death in his sleep. Mortified, Merrick took it upon himself to hunt down the man his friend was after. Merrick didn't know why, but he felt this man could give him some answers.

Finally, at 17, after years of being a travelling bard, he found the man. He knew not his name, he just knew he was a renowned alchemist and was wanted for wiping out a small settelment with poison gas. The alchemist turned to the young woman standing by him and smiled. "The brat survived the fire." He then threw a green dust in Merrick's face, knocking him out. When he awoke, he was still amnesiac, but he had remembered just a few more things. He now knew his name, for one thing, as well as he knew the alchemist and the woman. The woman was his older sister, and the alchemist was her lover. Together, they conspired to kill him so that way she would be the sole heir to the family fortune of 1,000,000 gald. However, their house caught fire as well and the money was lost.

He can now often be found praying in the churches of Martel, looking to her for answers he does not believe only he can find.

GW name: TheChosenOne  
**Character Name:** Jagoth  
**Alias:** The Blue Tiger  
**Age:** 20  
**Look:** Jagoth has Long hari down to his shodlers, Average Build, he is about 6'0, Blue eyes, A scar over his left eye and his right arm is scared pritty bad He wears a blue cape and Blue armor.  
**History:** Jagoth and his older brother Xion witnessed the murder of there father and Jagoths mother fifteen years ago. since then the two travle around looking for anyone they can help. Jagoth carries his fathers Bastard swords in Honor He was given the Name The Blue Tiger by there father as a famly custom. Jagoth follows thoes customes closer than Xion going as far to die his hair Blue. There is one person other than Xion that Jagoth truly cares for.

**Character Name:** Xion  
**Alias:** The Red Thunder  
**Age:** 30  
**Look:** Xion Has Spikey Blond hair. He is of a muscliar build He Wears a red Martial arts Gi. He is about 6'5, He has no scars.  
**History:** Xion was taught Martial Arts by there father Unlike Jagoth who was taught in the way of the sword. Xion on the other hand dosen't follow his famly's customs as closey as Jagoth. Xion will fight if the oppuntry arises unless Jagoth says other wise. And Xion is not above useing a little dirty tactes like throwing dirt in his onnonents faces. Though he does follow some of them He gives out the name "The Red Thunder" To anyone he meets to this day Only Jagoth knows his real name. After that day fifteen years ago Xion swore to Keep Jagoth safe.

**Character Name:** Sapphire  
**Alias:** The Yellow Gem  
**Age:** 19  
**Look:** Sapphire has Blond hair down to her sholders She wears a Yellow top and shorts, she is about 5'5.  
**History:** Sapphire was a wanderer she ran away from her home about four years ago. She wandered the world fighting off anything that attacked her with her Giant Claw weapon. She eventually met up with Jagoth and Xion at first she though they were bandats and Attacked them however Jagoth was far supperior to her in terms of Skill and Xion was far stronger so She didn't stand a chance. After she was knocked unchosish Jagoth healed her back to full health. After she awoke they explained everything She started to leave than Jagoth offered to Train her so she could be better suted to fighting off others stronger than her. After tranning started Sapphire and Jagoth started to fall in love to the point where Jagoth followed his famlys customs and gave her a new name and Jagoth told her his name something he had never done before.

**Character's Name:** Fukushima Ryuu  
**Class:** Dragonic Swordsmen  
**Race:** Human  
**Age:** 18  
**Weight:** 115 lbs  
**Height:** 5'6 ft  
**Description:** He weighs near 115 lbs, and is about 5'6 ft. With short blond hair, and a pair of mysterious blue eyes. His skin is light tanned, his body figure is slightly muscular. On his chest is a thin shirt that is dark red, outside of that is a very thin chest armor that is gray. Tied around his back is a dark black sheath, inside that sheath is a mysterious sword known as the Dragon Breaker. Equipped on his hands are black leather gloves. His pants are light brown, which are dirty and completely torn up, with holes near the kneecaps and legs. Equipped to his feet are very thick boots which are black, the soles of the boots are made out of metal.  
**Bio:** Unknown.  
**Weapon:** Dragon Breaker  
**Attacks:** Dragon Fang, Twin Dragon Fang, Dragon Thrust, Dragon Twister.  
**Hi-Ougis:** Burning Dragon, Shining Aurora, Omega Dragon Twister.

GW name: Kevin1292  
**Character Name:** Kyoshi Deishu  
**Age:** 17  
**Gender:** Male  
**Race:** Human  
**Height:** 6'0"  
**Weight:** 146  
**Weapon:** 2 short swords and a short bow  
**Class:** Fletching Swordsman: One who is skilled with swords and bows.  
**Description:** Short brown hair, brown eyes, average build, black tunic with black pants. Wears a necklace with a topaz, his zodiac stone, on it, which he recieved for his 16th birthday.  
**Bio:** He was born and raised in Iselia. He moved with his parents to Palmacosta when he was eight. He lived there until he was 13, then they moved back to Iselia, and started training with swords and bows, since he had always been interested in them.

When he was 15, his father mysteriously died, even the top doctors could not figure out how he died. He then had to find work to get money for food. He eventually worked for Lloyd Irving as an apprentice blacksmith.

On his 16th birthday, he recieved a necklace with a topaz on it, made out of silver. He also recieved a new sword that was crafted from Lloyd. He soon quit working for Lloyd and became a mercenary, since it usually paid more.

He is still a mercenary and rarely leaves the village for work, finding plenty within the village.

GW name: Armored Knight  
**Character name:** Venil Or'adain  
**Age:** 20  
**Gender:** male  
**Height:** 5'9"  
**Weight:** 165 lbs.  
**Weapon:** Ten daggers, five clipped to each leg. Main daggers look like they are made from dark sapphire, the blade of the main daggers are nine inches in length, other daggers are five.  
**Armor:** Dark green cloak w/hood, leather armor under his shirt, also wears leather braces. Leggings are strapped to prevent brushing against anything during jobs. (Thieving)  
**Magic:** None  
**Class:** Thief  
**Description:** A thin man, mainly from lack of nutrition, and somewhat pale from lack of sleep. He isn't very strong, but his size allows him to maneuver quickly, wherever he is. Has red-orange hair, and bright blue eyes.

**Biography:** When he was born, he was thrown straight into the world of thieves. His mother, the leader of the thief guild, known as the Silver Fangs, and his father concieved him young. He came into the world, and as a result, his mother resigned the position as leader to take care of him. His father didn't really care much, because the relationship was merely a fling, and nothing else, but he didn't really care. His mind was on becoming a thief.

His 'friends' in the guild were always hard on him, but Venil understood it was for the best. Every time he completed his exercises, he was belittled on how much better he could've done, or how he didn't do something right. But he tried to keep at it, and eventually made it into the guild. His mother rejoined, but was captured during her first job back. The leader at the time, Rydoa, said it was her fault for trying to think she still could be a thief after softening up for fifteen years, and Venil was no different. Something snapped in his mind, and he attempted to prove Rydoa wrong.

On his first job, he was to infiltrate a mansion and steal a single gem, and nothing else was asked of him. As he went in, he was amazed at all the riches the owner had inside of it, and something clicked. He wanted to steal all he could to prove all the people at Silver Fang wrong, and so he did. Venil started small, stealing silverware and other small items, the gem included. More and more things were starting to dissapear, until the sack he came with was filled. During his escape, however, is when trouble really started. The town watch spotted him, and they gave chase. He had no idea they followed him all the way back to the main base, and they arrested all the thieves in the place.

Filled with a great amount of guilt, he burned the base down to ensure nobody else decided to use it. Three days later, he was hanging around a bar when he heard the Silver Fang leader started it back up, and was after a 'traitor'. He knew that was him. Now, he runs from both the law, and any Silver Fang members. However, his thief mind keeps him stealing things, just to make a small profit now and then, but the night from his first thieving left him, at times, stealing everything that isn't on fire. Mainly because he'd first steal anything that's nailed down by stealing the nails first.

GW name: Runaway Angel  
**Character name:** Tesory Derriskha (tuh-soar-ee dare-iss-kah)  
**Age:** 16 (32)  
**Gender:** Female  
**Race:** Half-elf  
**Height:** 5' 9"  
**Weight:** ?  
**Weapon(s):** Sylph Knife – a special pair of blades that can cut through the wind with the power of Sephie, the leader of Sylph  
Wind Bow- a special long bow blessed by Yutis  
**Shield:** Jet Shield – a special shield empowerd with the magic of Fairess (PLEASE say you catch the jist so far)  
**Class:** Air Angel: Pretty as a fairy, the Air Angel has a bite much worse then her bark. Stand back when she's mad!  
**Appearance:** Long, straight white hair that goes to her knees. She has beautiful slate colored eyes and pale skin, with a strange, red colored gem in the corner of her right eye. She wears a white shirt that never seems to get dirty and a pair of white shorts with sandals. (similar to flip-flops except they don't bite into the skin between her big toe and other toe and strap her heel in too) She also has a pair of gold braclets (one on each hand), that has half of a rune carved into it.  
**Bio:** Tesory is a sixteen year old half-elf girl who lives in the rock under the main platform of Exire where she lives with her little sister Mallee and twin brother Nuis. She is VERY capable with her swords (which are twin blades just like Lloyd's), and is more potent with her magic then even the Sages, but only when she releases her full potential, which almost never happens. She is really friendly and enjoys company, and immediately becomes friends with Terra Irving, who is (to her surprise) her age. She seems to be in love with Kratos but is not, and always refers to him as Lord Kratos. He doesn't seem to mind TOO much, but whenever Yuan sees her or her siblings, he always runs as fast as his feet, wings, or Rheiard will take him. She willingly fights in the war Aaron has created.

**Character name:** Mallee Derriskha (ma kind of like the begging sound when you pronounce ma'am-lee dare-iss-kah)  
**Age:** 8 (24)  
**Gender:** Female  
**Race:** Half-elf  
**Height:** 4' 3.5"  
**Weight:** ?  
**Weapon:** none  
**Class:** Little Sister: You can't do as much as your older siblings, but you do have one advantage: younger kids are so much cuter!  
**Appearance:** Mallee looks like an eight year old half-elf- pointed ears, a small, cute face, and longish white hair that goes down to half-way down her back and is kind of poofy (a lot like Arche's from ToP except with no ribbon and a little less poofy (but only a little)) She, like Tesory and Nuis, has pale skin and a small red gem at the corner oh her right eye. She wears four braclets- two that are identical to Tesory's, and two around her ankles which have two different, whole runes on them. She wears a white shirt with green shorts.  
**Bio:** Mallee is an eight year old half-elf who lives in Exire with her siblings. She is typically pretty quiet, and blushes a lot when Kratos is nearby, which always forces Tesory to laugh. She's either following Tesory or Terra around all the time, and rarely speaks with anyone except them and Nuis. Mallee carries no weapons, but Tesory and Nuis both say she is still a force to be GREATLY reckoned with.

**Character name:** Nuis Derriskha  
**Age:** 16 (32)  
**Gender:** Male  
**Race:** Half-elf  
**Height:** 5' 10"  
**Weight:** ?  
**Weapon:** Solizz. A lightning sword, Solizz is a legendary angelic sword with a secret power etched upon the side of the lightning bolt shaped handle written in a language none know. It has three large, yellow orbs used for storing mana for devastating Hell Strikes.  
**Class:** Unworthy Swordsman: a swordsman who has proven himself unworthy and fights with everything he has to become better  
**Appearance:** Nuis has pale skin and short white hair where sometimes the longer locks near the front of his face droop into his eyes, giving him a look very similar to Kratos'. He wears a white cloak when he travels, but otherwise wears a white shirt with white pants, and white sandals. (everything about this trio is basically white, so get used to it. XP LOL) He also has two gold braclets identicl to Tesory's two.  
**Bio:** Nuis is a good guy when you really get to know him- he's a good kid to his sisters. He has a bit of an inferiority complex- he's so worried about not being able to take care of his sisters and himself, that he is overly protective and aggressive, but not in a maternal-way. He fights with Solizz, his special lightning blade. Although half-elf, Nuis has almost no magical power. The occasional weakling fire ball and super-weak first aid is about it. He refuses to speak in front of Kratos, and even getting them in the same overall area is a fight. He rarely shows any emotion other than anger, but always seems to loosen up a little more when he's around Tesory, Mallee, or Terra, who it's obvious has started to fall in love with (much to his horror). He's often found mutering under his breath "when I find him… when I find him…" It is said that Nuis has never laughed, except once, a LONG time ago. It's Tesory's hope in life that she can make him laugh again.


End file.
